Former presidential aide and ambassador-designate, Reno Omokri, has disclosed that he personally apologised to President Bola Tinubu over his past critical comments, saying he withdrew the allegations after fresh evidence and court rulings contradicted his earlier claims.
Omokri made the disclosure on Channels TV’s current affairs programme, ‘Politics Today’, on Wednesday night, where he addressed criticisms questioning his suitability to represent Nigeria abroad, particularly from activist Omoyele Sowore, who has been described as one of his “strongest critics.”
He explained that his past remarks about Tinubu, made between 2022 and 2023, were based on information he believed to be accurate at the time, but said he publicly reversed his position following the Supreme Court’s verdict on the 2023 presidential election and further verification of facts surrounding Tinubu’s academic records.
“I did say some negative things about the president between 2022 and 2023,” Omokri said. “But on the day of his inauguration, May 29, 2023, I asked Nigerians to support him pending the decision of the Supreme Court.”
According to him, after the apex court delivered judgement on October 26, 2023, affirming Tinubu’s electoral victory, he accepted the ruling and formally withdrew the allegations two days later during a television appearance.
Omokri stressed that his change of position was also informed by his personal findings during a visit to the United States, where he investigated claims surrounding Tinubu’s educational background.
“I went to Chicago State University. I was the first person to say that this man actually attended Chicago State University, even though it was against my own political interest,” he said.
He added that while he had earlier maintained concerns over a forfeiture judgement in the United States, he later clarified—based on legal interpretation—that Tinubu was never criminally convicted.
“When the Supreme Court passed its judgement, I said no, this man was never convicted. It was client funds. And I’m a lawyer,” Omokri explained, adding that forfeiture of funds does not equate to a criminal conviction.
Omokri said he subsequently appeared on several television platforms to retract his claims, noting that he used the word “exonerated” deliberately, based on its legal meaning.
“The word exonerated means the president has been absolved by a judicial body,” he said.
He further revealed that beyond public retractions, he sought a private meeting with Tinubu to apologise directly.
“On October 1, 2024, I apologised to him to his face, and I told him I wasn’t being malicious,” Omokri disclosed.
Addressing the ongoing legal troubles of Sowore before a Federal High Court in Abuja for calling the President uncomplimentary names, Omokri rejected suggestions that what he said about President Tinubu was similar to Sowore’s case, describing such claims as a weak legal defence.
“If you go to court and you are charged with a crime, you don’t say this person also did it. That is a very childish defence,” he said.
He argued that governments often prosecute selected cases to serve as deterrence, a principle he described as “a suitable target for maximum impact,” adding that this, in his view, explained Sowore’s prosecution.
Omokri maintained that his actions were guided by evidence and legal reasoning, insisting that he corrected the record once the facts became clear.
“At the time I said those things, I believed they were true. When I found out they were not true, I dropped them,” he said.
