Tag: Reno Omokri

Former presidential aide Reno Omokri has hailed President Bola Tinubu’s ability to build relationships beyond partisan politics, religion, and region.

Omokri revealed that, despite being from rival political parties and with a highly anticipated election just two years away, Bola Tinubu invited then-President Goodluck Jonathan to commission the Eko Atlantic City on Thursday, February 21, 2013.

Tagging Tinubu as a leader, Omokri recounted that the Labour Party’s former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, refused to celebrate Professor Wole Soyinka on his 90th birthday because of a political disagreement.

According to him, Obi’s actions did not portray that of a ‘leader’, but rather a ‘trader’. 

Read Also: Leave me out of Natasha Akpoti’s Affairs, Omokri begs Nigerians

Omokri’s words were contained in a statement he shared via his X handle on Thursday, March 6.

The statement reads: “As of today, Eko Atlantic City is worth $6 billion and is the most expensive commercial real estate in Sub-Saharan Africa. Yet Peter Obi, a man who spent eight years as Governor of Anambra without building even a single nursery, primary, or secondary school or university, has the audacity to criticise President Bola Tinubu, who, as Governor of Lagos, initiated, started, and funded the creation of this man-made city built on reclaimed ocean land.

“To show Asiwaju Tinubu’s ability to build relationships beyond partisan politics, religion, and region, even though they were in opposing political parties and were about to face each other in a keenly fought election just two years away, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu still ensured that then President Goodluck Jonathan was invited to commission Eko Atlantic City on Thursday, February 21, 2013.

“Meanwhile, Peter Obi refused to celebrate Professor Wole Soyinka on his 90th birthday because of a political disagreement. That’s the difference between a leader and a trader!”

A former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, has urged Nigerians to leave him out of the controversy surrounding Senator Natasha Akpoti’s recent allegations against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

Senator Akpoti had accused Akpabio of sexual harassment, a claim that has dominated media discussions for days. 

Following her allegation, some Nigerians recalled an incident involving Akpoti and Omokri in 2014, drawing parallels between the two cases.

Addressing the matter in a statement posted on his X page on Saturday, Omokri clarified his past encounter with Akpoti and pleaded to be left out of the current issue.

“I have been inundated with calls from almost all major media outlets in Nigeria seeking my reaction to Senator Natasha Akpoti’s accusations against the Senate President. Many referenced a past allegation she made against me, which was similar to her current claims against Akpabio,” Omokri wrote.

He expressed frustration over being drawn into the controversy and stated that he preferred to put the matter to rest for the sake of his family.

Omokri explained that his altercation with Akpoti stemmed from a social media incident where he rejected a woman’s advances, declaring his loyalty to his wife. 

According to him, the woman was a friend of Akpoti, who then accused him of sexual harassment at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa during a reception for then-Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in May 2014.

Omokri maintained that he had no knowledge of the truth behind Akpoti’s allegations against Akpabio, as he was not present when the alleged incident occurred.

Read Also: Nigerian Army Resource Centre DG calls for stronger military-media collaboration

The statement read: “Unfortunately for Senator Akpoti, during those dates, I was sent to the United States of America as President Jonathan’s special envoy. I met and was photographed with multiple U.S. officials, including State Department officials, in Washington, D.C. 

“I then published a First Class British Airways ticket and my passport (which was a different class of passport from the regular Nigerian passport and requires a special kind of stamp), proving that I was not in Nigeria on the dates Senator Akpoti alleged I sexually harassed her.

“After I published that evidence, Miss Natasha Akpoti, as she then was, deleted every trace of her allegations against me and the video she had made insulting me, my wife and my newborn daughter. 

“As I was pondering the next steps to take, a very influential and respectable man from my ethnic nationality, reached out to a prominent Christian clergyman, who mediated between him and I. The gentleman greeted me in my mother tongue, Itsekiri, and was most gentlemanly and expressed regrets over the incident, and I was prevailed on by the clergyman to reach an out-of-court settlement. 

“Thereafter, I dropped the matter since my name had been cleared, and the out-of-court settlement was adequate. 

“That is the extent of my encounter with Senator Natasha Akpoti. I hope the media can now leave me alone, as I am reluctant to grant any interviews or get entangled in this matter, seeing as I have the highest respect for the man who reached out to me to settle the matter. 

“As for the Senate, I have the highest respect and confidence in that institution and its leadership and believe that the right thing to do would be to institute a Senate investigation by the appropriate committee to determine the veracity of the present allegations.”

Former presidential spokesperson and prominent social commentator, Reno Omokri, has revealed why former Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai, was not appointed as a minister by President Bola Tinubu.

In a widely circulated tweet titled: “On Nasir el-Rufai’s Allegations Against President Tinubu and NSA Ribadu on Arise TV Today,” Omokri claimed that El-Rufai allegedly failed security checks and was not confirmed by the National Assembly.

Omokri wrote: “On Monday, 24, 2025, Malam Nasir el-Rufai appeared on Arise Television and accused President Tinubu and the National Security Adviser of being behind his failed ministerial nomination.

“Mr. el-Rufai said, among other things, that “the President did not want me in his cabinet.” 

“Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that President Bola Tinubu nominated Malam Nasir el-Rufai as a minister and, as is constitutionally required, sent his name to the National Assembly for Senate confirmation. 

Read Also: Ex-Rep member to el-Rufai: Nigeria in safe hands with Tinubu

“During the Senate confirmation process, the National Assembly requested security clearance from both national and international security and intelligence agencies, and it was discovered that Nasir el-Rufai failed his security screening woefully. 

“For these and other reasons, Malam Nasir el-Rufai failed his security clearance and could not be cleared by the Senate of the National Assembly. He has himself to blame for this, not the President or the NSA.

“Nigerians may recall that el-Rufai was not the only ministerial nominee who was refused clearance. Nasir el-Rufai and two others, including Danladi Sani, the Taraba state nominee, and Stella Okotete of Delta state, were rejected because security agencies refused to clear them.

“None of the others has blamed the duo of the President or his NSA. None. Except el-Rufai.

“Thereafter, el-Rufai withdrew his nomination and named his former commissioner for local government, Jafaru Sani, as his replacement.”

A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Magistrate Court has vacated the remand order against Reno Omokri, a bestselling author and former presidential spokesman, in a case filed by Pastor Paul Enenche of Dunamis International Gospel Centre.

The court had earlier issued the remand order without prior notification to Omokri. 

However, following an appeal by his legal representatives, Osa Director & Co., the presiding Chief Magistrate, Chief Emmanuel Iyanna, ordered the removal of Omokri’s name from the First Information Report (FIR) during a hearing on January 30, 2025.

Omokri’s legal team expressed strong disapproval of the manner in which the remand order was obtained, calling it “unchristian” and “beneath the character of a pastor” to secretly seek such an order without informing the accused. 

The legal team said that Omokri himself only learned of the development through a gossip blog.

Reacting to the case, Omokri reaffirmed his stance that Pastor Enenche and his wife, Dr. Becky Enenche in their roles as religious leaders. 

He accused the pastor of openly engaging in partisan politics during the 2023 Nigerian elections by using the church as a campaign platform for Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi.

According to Omokri, Enenche’s conduct would not have been tolerated if a Muslim cleric had done the same. 

Read Also: Breaking the Silence: Addressing the Stigma Surrounding Hormonal Imbalance in Nigeria

He referenced the pastor’s call for his congregation to “tell their friends and relatives what to vote” while displaying images and symbols of preferred candidates. 

Omokri argued that such actions violated the Electoral Act, as well as Dunamis Church’s registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission, which restricts it to ecclesiastical activities.

Furthermore, Omokri criticized Pastor Enenche’s remarks about the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, now President Bola Tinubu, calling them inflammatory and capable of inciting religious discord in Nigeria’s multiethnic and religiously diverse society. 

He asserted that in countries like the U.S. or the U.K., a religious leader engaging in such political endorsements would risk losing their preaching license and tax-exempt status.

Beyond political involvement, Omokri also took issue with Pastor Enenche’s wife, Dr. Becky Enenche, for her controversial statement that missing tithes nullifies previous contributions. 

He described this as an attempt to manipulate Christians financially, arguing that it contradicts biblical teachings.

Omokri pointed out that Peter Obi, whom Pastor Enenche actively supported, is a Catholic who does not practise tithing. 

He questioned the logic of urging Christians to vote for a non-tithing candidate while preaching that non-tithers cannot prosper.

Referencing biblical texts, Omokri emphasized that tithes in Scripture were an agricultural levy meant for the Levites, who had no land inheritance. 

He argued that monetary tithes are not biblically mandated and accused certain pastors of commercializing Christianity for financial gain.

Despite the court’s decision to vacate the remand order, Omokri’s lawyers indicated that he remains prepared to challenge Pastor Enenche in court if the matter proceeds further.

A former presidential aide, Mr Reno Omokri, has praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for running an inclusive government that will enhance the country’s unity and stability.

Omokri, in a statement yesterday, said contrary to claims in some quarters, Tinubu’s recent appointments reflect the federal character principles enshrined in the 1999 Constitution as amended.

A Northern group, the Northern Elders Forum, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, recently criticised the president’s recent appointments as lopsided.

However, Omokri dismissed the claim as untrue, explaining that available records showed Tinubu’s appointments complied with the constitutional provisions on federal character.

“Both the appointment of security chiefs and ministers complied with the Constitution’s federal character principles provisions,” he said, adding, “The mischief makers took the new appointments out of context.”

For instance, he said, only five of the 20 security agencies were from the Southwest.

“In their desperate attempts to provoke a military coup, which is their ultimate goal, these elements have carefully and manipulatively curated all the positions occupied by persons of Southwest origin without balancing those held by persons from other geopolitical zones to paint a picture that does not exist,” he stated.

Omokri explained, “In addition to the Ministry of Defence, Nigeria has 20 security and law enforcement agencies, including the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Air Force, the Nigerian Navy, the Nigerian Police Force, the Department of State Service, the Nigerian Intelligence Agency, and the Defence Intelligence Agency.

“The paramilitary forces are the Nigerian Immigration Service, the Nigerian Customs Service, the Nigerian Correctional Service ( formerly known as the Nigerian Prison Service), the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Federal Road Safety Commission, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, the Federal Fire Service, and the National Youth Service Corps, which, unknown to most Nigerians, is a reserve force that can be called up during emergencies.”

He said officers from the Southwest headed only the Nigerian Army, the Police, Customs, the DSS, and the EFCC, pointing out that this was contrary to the lopsided situation that existed.

The former presidential aide said, “If that is their argument, what would they say about the immediate past government headed by President Muhammadu Buhari, where the leaders of the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary, as well as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Chief of Staff to the President, the heads of the Defence Ministry, Attorney General of the Federation, Army, Police, NSA, DSS, NIA, DMI, DIA, NPS, NCS, NIS and EFCC, were all simultaneously Northern Muslim men?

“The fact remains that under President Tinubu, our defence architecture is balanced, which is why, for the first time in eight years, we have a person from the Southeast as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in the person of the Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla.”

On appointing new ministers, Omokri argued that it was constitutionally impossible for any President, no matter how sectional, to disregard the Federal Character Commission Act because they must appoint a minister from every state.

He pointed out that the claim that the President appointed 11 ministers from the Southwest was erroneous as the representative of Kwara State, though Yoruba, was from the Northcentral.

Omokri said, “The North of Nigeria has the majority of Ministers in the present cabinet, including what may be referred to as the most prized ministries: the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Police Affairs Ministry.”

Read Also: Protest will not erase reality of petrol subsidy removal, says Omokri

He said the President was systematically reforming the governance structure and explained that Nigeria would deepen its federalism from next month as the local governments will receive their Federation Account Allocation directly.

According to him, “Such reforms, along with others like the removal of oil receipts from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and handing them to the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the removal of fuel subsidies, which have stripped fuel importers and cross-border smugglers of their illicit source of income, have created powerful enemies for the Tinubu administration. These carpetbaggers will stop at nothing to try to incite an illegal and undemocratic regime change.

“They tried it with the failed Days of Rage protests when they went to military barracks to recruit soldiers and flooded some parts of Nigeria with foreign flags. Now that those false flag antics have failed, their next antic is to gaslight Nigerians about so-called Yoruba dominance. A dominance that only exists in their jaundiced imaginations and machinations.”