There is mounting tension in the Nigerian Senate following the nomination of social media commentator and former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, as an ambassadorial nominee, an appointment that has triggered factional battles, and the shutdown of the lawmakers’ WhatsApp group.
Omokri was among the 32 names forwarded to the Senate for confirmation, but his inclusion has provoked a storm, especially over his past public criticism of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, including a controversial remark in which he once labelled the President a “drug baron”.
In an unexpected twist, Akpabio is 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.”
A 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.
Senator Osita Ngwu, representing Enugu West Senatorial District, is reported to be rallying senators to reject Omokri with sources revealing that Ngwu has been attacking colleagues against the move.
“Senator Osita Ngwu, representing Enugu West Senatorial District, is reported to be rallying senators to reject Omokri,” an insider noted.
“Ngwu has been attacking colleagues against the move.”
The disagreements reportedly spiralled 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 who insisted they had been silenced.
But Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, a vocal figure in the Senate, publicly confronted Ngwu over the group shutdown and demanded that he reopen the platform and restore comments that had been deleted during the altercation.
“Dear Senator Osita Ngwu of Enugu Enugu West Senatorial District, you will open responses in the Senators WhatsApp forum and repost my deleted comments,” she posted.
“Else I’ll bring the discussion to the public domain.”
Ngwu insisted anyone who had called the president a drug baron cannot represent the president and country.
He said, “Someone who called the President of Nigeria a drug baron and who has not retracted the statement should not represent Nigeria and Nigerians in the international and diplomatic society.
“It’s about the office of the President not about an individual.
“Meanwhile, bring it up...”
His defiance further inflamed tension among senators already divided over the nomination.
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