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By Goli Innocent
Former presidential aide and newly appointed ambassador, Reno Omokri, has thrown his weight behind electronic transmission of election results, while insisting that President Bola Tinubu “is the best thing for Nigeria” at this time.
Omokri made the remarks during a televised interview shortly after his appointment and Senate screening, addressing criticisms over his past comments about the president, his new role, and the national debate on electoral reforms.
Omokri acknowledged that between 2022 and 2023, he made negative statements about Tinubu but said he publicly withdrew them after the Supreme Court judgment on the 2023 presidential election.
“I did say some negative things about the president between 2022 and 2023,” he said. “But on the day of his inauguration, Monday, May 29, 2023, I asked Nigerians, listen, let’s support this man pending the decision of the Supreme Court.”
He continued: “On Thursday, October 26, when the Supreme Court passed judgment, on that same day, I said, listen, I accept the judgment, and we should put everything behind us.”
According to him, he went further to retract his allegations publicly.
“I withdrew all of those allegations because the Supreme Court had given judgment,” he stated. “When that judgment was passed, I said I was sorry. I came on several news stations… and I used the word that the president has been exonerated.”
Omokri, who holds a master’s degree in law, emphasised the meaning of the word. “The word exonerated means that the president has been absolved by a judicial body,” he said.
He also revealed that he sought a private meeting with Tinubu to apologise.
“October 1, 2024, I apologised to him, to his face, and I told him I wasn’t being malicious. At the time I said those things, I believed them. When I found out that it wasn’t true… I came out and I dropped those things.”
Responding to accusations of hypocrisy, Omokri insisted his change of stance was based on facts, not political inducement.
“I wasn’t paid to change my stance,” he said. “I deal with facts. I’m not an emotional person. So, when the facts change, I change with them. Only a stupid person does not change when the facts change.”
On his earlier comment that it was “not in my DNA” to work with Tinubu, Omokri clarified that he never said he would not work for Nigeria.
“I never said that I cannot work for Nigeria. As an ambassador, I am working for Nigeria. I’m going to be an ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
He then declared: “My position on President Bola Tinubu has changed. I believe he is the best thing for Nigeria.”
Turning to the heated national debate on electoral reforms, Omokri said he supports electronic transmission of results but described real-time transmission as unrealistic.
“If you want to have electronic transmission of results, I support that,” he said. “I don’t think anybody who is going to be against that is patriotic.”
However, he challenged proponents of real-time transmission to cite examples.
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“Can you name a country in the world that they have real-time electronic transmission of results?” he asked. “Even in the United States, there is no real-time transmission of election results.”
He explained that what many viewers see on television in advanced democracies are media projections based on exit polls, not official real-time results.
“That is the media. The media, they work on what they call exit polls,” he said. “It is wrong to take what the media is telling you as the official result.”
Omokri also warned against outsourcing Nigeria’s electoral data infrastructure to foreign companies.
“If you get Starlink to start doing that, first and foremost, you are having data breach because you are giving the data of your citizens to a foreign power. No reasonable country on earth will do that,” he said.
Quoting tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, he added: “He did say… ‘I have been coding since I was 19 years old and I know that e-voting can be hacked.’”
Omokri stressed that under Nigeria’s constitutional framework, the physical result sheet remains the primary legal document.
“Are you aware that it is the printed EC8A form… that is actually the primary documentary evidence?” he asked. “If that form differs with what has been transmitted electronically, it is that form that is actually taken in court.”
He maintained that electronic transmission does not replace manual collation.
“Transmitting the result electronically does not displace the physical copy of the result,” he argued. “If it differs… what has been transmitted electronically is null and void to the extent of its inconsistency with that document.”
Addressing claims that the ruling party fears defeat in 2027, Omokri dismissed such suggestions.
“If the opposition could not defeat a Bola Tinubu with about 20 governors in 2023, how are they going to be able to defeat him right now with 30 governors?” he asked.
He also defended the administration’s economic record.
“We have added $67 billion to our GDP in two years. Our foreign reserves have gone from the low 30 billions to about 49,” he said.
According to him, Nigerians are already feeling the impact.
“What the average person knows is this, is that since Bola Tinubu became president, they have never had to queue at the petrol station to get fuel. Fuel is readily available.”
On the prospect of defeat, he added: “That’s democracy in action. I don’t think it’s going to happen, but that’s democracy.”
Omokri concluded by reiterating his confidence in the president’s political strength ahead of the next election cycle, insisting that history remains on the side of incumbency backed by strong party structures.
With the debate over electoral reforms intensifying, his intervention is likely to further energise both supporters and critics of the current administration.
