Former presidential aide and ambassador-designate, Reno Omokri, has accused Peter Obi, a prominent figure within the African Democratic Congress (ADC), of being desperate to become Nigeria’s president at any cost.
Omokri made the allegation in a series of posts on X, where he claimed that Obi has been exploiting recent fire outbreaks in different parts of the country to criticise the federal government while allegedly remaining silent on similar tragedies in the South-East.
According to Omokri, Obi frequently comments on fire incidents occurring outside the Igbo-speaking region but fails to publicly acknowledge comparable disasters within his home area. He cited two recent incidents in Anambra State — a fire outbreak at Trano Rentals Hotel in Isuaniocha, Awka North, on January 1, and another during a Christmas carnival in Umuchu, Aguata Local Government Area, on December 30, 2025, which reportedly claimed several lives — noting that Obi did not react publicly to either event.
In contrast, Omokri said Obi had commented on fire outbreaks in states such as Lagos, Kano, Niger, Plateau, Katsina, Zamfara and Sokoto, a pattern he described as selective and politically motivated.
He further accused the former Labour Party presidential candidate of promoting ethnic and regional sentiments in his public commentary, arguing that many of the fire incidents were largely driven by environmental factors rather than governance failures. Omokri described Obi as a “tribal irredentist,” alleging that his pursuit of political power has affected his ability to express empathy without attaching blame.
Omokri also criticised Obi’s reference to what he described as a surge in fire incidents, saying it was an attempt to score political points rather than show compassion to victims. He argued that instead of offering sympathy, Obi chose to accuse the government of responsibility for incidents he said were influenced mainly by environmental conditions.
“Blaming a so-called surge of fire incidents on the government is a sad display of tribalism, sectionalism, desperation and ignorance,” Omokri wrote, adding that Obi’s actions amounted to what he called the de-marketing of Nigeria in pursuit of political ambition.