🎧
Listen to this article
Reno Omokri, who serves as the Ambassador-designate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, has publicly disputed Atiku Abubakar’s assertion that President Bola Tinubu is 90 years old.
In a public statement released on Friday, Omokri called upon publisher and journalist Dele Momodu to verify the genuineness of a snapshot he stated was captured alongside Tinubu in London back in 1996.
This development followed a BBC interview published earlier on Friday where Atiku claimed that Tinubu was 90 years old and stated he possessed documentation to back up the assertion in court.
Atiku had remarked, “I have a president who is 90 years old now, and who is sick, and I am healthy, I am strong, so why would I not make my services available to my fellow countrymen?”
When the interviewer pushed back on the claim, suggesting the age was unverifiable, Atiku insisted, “I have evidence that he is, and I will present it in court.”
In response, Omokri published an archived picture showing Tinubu alongside Momodu in London in 1996, suggesting the visual evidence contradicts the assertion that the president is a nonagenarian.
He stated, “This is a photo of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Dele Momodu taken in London in 1996. If Asiwaju is indeed 90 years old, as recently alleged, then Dele Momodu must be in his eighties.”
He continued, “Look at the photo yourself. I have not altered it in any way. Dele Momodu is alive to testify to the authenticity of this photograph and the date and place where it was taken.”
Omokri further challenged observers to consider whether Tinubu appeared to be 60 years old at the time, noting that a 90-year-old age in 2026 would imply a 60-year-old age three decades ago.
“Does His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, look like a sixty-year-old in this photo?” he asked.
He added, “If Asiwaju is indeed ninety years of age, then he would have been sixty when this photo was taken exactly thirty years ago.”
“I urge objective Nigerians and citizens of the world to again look at this photo. Does the gentleman on the right look sixty? Does he even look fifty?”
Additionally, Omokri appealed to Momodu, referencing past acknowledgments regarding assistance Tinubu provided during Momodu’s time escaping the late military dictator Sani Abacha.
“I remind Dele Momodu that, by his own admission, Asiwaju was good to him when he was in exile from the Abacha regime,” he noted.
“Mr Momodu is free to support whichever candidate he chooses. But will it be morally acceptable for Dele Momodu to watch idly by as a man who was once his benefactor, and who he once referred to as his friend, is being accused of being a nonagenarian suffering from ill health?”
Omokri argued that political discourse should center around substantive policy issues rather than attempts to target opponents regarding their age.
“Perhaps we can raise the bar for this election by raising issues germane to the Nigerian people and brainstorming ideas to resolve the challenges plaguing our polity,” he suggested.
“But to age-shame people with ages that are not even theirs is to reduce the discussion about who governs Nigeria to an unbecoming level.”
Official records indicate President Tinubu was born on March 29, 1952, making him 74 years old, despite previous public disputes regarding his documentation and background.
See photo below:
No Comments