Senate In Uproar Over Omokri’s Ambassadorial Nomination Due To ‘’Drug Baron’’ Tag Of Tinubu
The Nigerian Senate is in turmoil over Reno Omokri’s ambassadorial nomination due to his past remarks about Bola Tinubu.
Omokri, a former presidential aide, had previously labeled Tinubu a “drug baron,” which has sparked controversy and opposition within the Senate.
Omokri, an ardent critic of Tinubu in the past, was among the names forwarded to the Senate for confirmation, however, his inclusion has been overshadowed by internal altercations and condemnations from some quarters, especially over his past public criticism of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, including a controversial remark in which he once labelled Tinubu a “drug baron”.
Meanwhile as the dust is yet to settle on the ongoing condemnations, parliamentary sources claim that Senate President Godswill Akpabio was instrumental in pushing Omokri’s name forward, allegedly as a reward for political work Omokri had done for him is already said to be mobilising his loyalists to oppose the same nominee he helped elevate.
“The senate president had nominated Omokri as a reward for the hatchet job he did for him,” one source disclosed.
“However, Akpabio is rallying some of his clique to screen Omokri out on the claim that he once attacked Tinubu and called him a drug baron.”
Another source revealed that Senator Osita Ngwu of Enugu West has taken a lead role in mobilising resistance against Omokri.
Ngwu has allegedly been reaching out to colleagues, urging them to reject the nominee on grounds of impropriety, arguing that anyone who made such serious allegations against a sitting President cannot credibly represent Nigeria on the global stage.
READ ALSO: Tinubu Nominates Omokri, Fani-Kayode, Ugwuanyi, Mahmood Yakubu, 28 Others As Ambassadors
The disagreements, according to reports has spiraled into a larger internal crisis when a Senate WhatsApp group, used for routine communication among lawmakers, was abruptly locked after arguments over Omokri’s nomination intensified.
Senator Ngwu, said to be one of the administrators of the group, allegedly disabled responses to prevent further confrontations. This angered several senators including Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, a vocal figure in the Senate who publicly confronted Ngwu over the group shutdown and demanded that he reopen the platform and restore comments that had been deleted during the altercation.
