Omokri’s “cant” with acceptance of Tinubu’s ambassadorial nomination, unravels, trends heavily on social media [+video]

■ From “I’ll never work for Tinubu’ to ‘It’s an honour to be his ambassador nominee”

A former spokesperson to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Oritsebemigho Ogbareno ‘Reno’ Omokri, who once swore never to accept any appointment or work with President Bola Tinubu, saying: “It’s not in my DNA,” has recanted and accepted Tinubu’s ambassadorial nomination.

Malami denies EFCC allegations, says Abacha loot probe baseless

Prior to the 2023 presidential election, Omokri earned a reputation for regularly calling out Tinubu as a corrupt politician, questioning his record, qualifications, and integrity.

Advertisement

In a dramatic twist of events, he emerged among the 32 ambassadorial nominees sent by Tinubu to the Senate on Saturday.

The list also included former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmud Yakubu; former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, and former Enugu State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, among others.

After Omokri accepted the nomination with gratitude, his old remarks during an appearance on the Mic On podcast, hosted by journalist Seun Okinbaloye, where he foreclosed any chance of accepting appointments from Tinubu, has surfaced.

A footage of the interview highlights a period when he firmly dismissed any possibility of joining the President Tinubu’s administration.

“It will never happen,” he said.

Pressed further on whether any scenario could make him reconsider, he added: “Oh my gosh, I don’t want to betray privilege.

“Somebody from Bola Tinubu’s camp has already reached out to me, and I told the person that, look, it cannot happen.

“I can’t do it.

“It’s just against my principles.

“Some people can do that.

“It’s not in my DNA.

“I can’t do it.

“It’s never going to happen.

“It’s never going to happen.

“I wish Bola Tinubu well if he eventually is sworn in and then the court upholds his victory.

“But I can never work with him.”