Reno Omokri, a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, has released what he described as email evidence showing his involvement in the selection of Peter Obi as the running mate to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the 2019 presidential election.
According to Omokri, the email, sent by Obi on October 8, 2018, contained the former Anambra State Governor’s resume in line with instructions issued by Atiku at the time. Four days later, on October 12, 2018, Obi was officially announced as Atiku’s running mate.
In a statement posted to his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Sunday, Omokri asserted that his disclosure was in response to allegations from a known supporter of Peter Obi who called him a liar during a podcast appearance.
“Dear Citizens of Nigeria,
Please find attached an email sent to me by Peter Obi at 6:13 PM on Monday, October 8, 2018. Four days after this email was sent, Peter Obi was announced as Waziri Atiku Abubakar’s running mate on Friday, October 12, 2018.
I am sure very reasonable and objective Nigerians can read his email, follow the timeline, and draw whatever inference they want.
My ONLY motive in publishing this evidence is to establish that I did not lie. I would not have considered publishing this email if a Peter Obi surrogate had not called me a liar on a popular podcast.
Everything I said during my interview is true and can be backed up with DOCUMENTARY evidence.
If this email is fake or AI-generated, then I challenge Mr. Obi to deny it, and I will publish even more damning evidence, although it is not my desire to do so.
However, even if I am nothing, at least I am a meticulous record keeper.
Thank you all, and may God bless Nigeria, as well as you and your loved ones,” Omokri wrote.
This latest development follows Omokri’s earlier claim in a media interview that he played a significant role in “packaging” Peter Obi for the 2019 presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Supporters of Obi, popularly known as the Obidient Movement, had dismissed Omokri’s earlier remarks, labeling them as false. However, as of the time of filing this report, neither Peter Obi nor the Obidient Movement has issued an official response to the new claims or the published email.
In the 2019 general election, Atiku Abubakar, with Peter Obi as his running mate, was defeated by then-incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, who secured a second term in office.
