Reno Omokri, former presidential aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, has claimed he played a pivotal role in the selection of Peter Obi as the Vice Presidential candidate to Atiku Abubakar in the 2019 general elections.
In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), Omokri disclosed that he, alongside former Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, was instrumental in packaging and recommending Obi to Atiku under the directive of former President Jonathan.
According to him, the former Anambra State governor persistently followed up on his interest in the VP slot by sending his CV and making repeated calls to ensure it was received.
“Senator Ben Murray-Bruce and I were responsible for Atiku Abubakar picking Peter Obi as his running mate. We packaged Peter Obi,” Omokri wrote.
He emphasized that his support for Obi at the time was purely based on loyalty to Jonathan. “I don’t particularly like Peter Obi. The reason I was doing that is because I was instructed by former President Jonathan that this is the man he wants, and I’m a loyal person.”
Omokri further narrated: “Atiku called me and said I should headhunt a vice presidential candidate for him. As he dropped the phone, the next person I called was President Jonathan. And President Jonathan told me it is Peter Obi. I said, ‘Sir, I don’t like Peter Obi.’”
He added: “This Peter Obi you see sent me his CV and called to ask, ‘Reno, have you gotten the CV? Check. Refresh.’ He was sending me his CV unsolicited.”
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) fielded Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi as its presidential and vice-presidential candidates respectively in the 2019 election, which they lost to the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari.
Omokri also issued a warning to Obi not to deny the account, stating that he would expose further details if challenged.
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