Political Firestorm: Omokri Challenges Atiku’s Tinubu Age Claim
Reno Omokri has challenged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar's claim that President Bola Tinubu is 90 years old, presenting a 1996 photograph of Tinubu and Dele Momodu as counter-evidence. Omokri urged Momodu to authenticate the photo and called for issue-based campaigns. This comes as Atiku, the ADC presidential candidate for 2027, vows to tackle insecurity if elected.
Reno Omokri, Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua, has challenged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s claimthat President Bola Tinubu is90 years old.
Atiku made the assertion during a BBC interview, saying he had evidence to support his claim in court while also questioning why he should not seek the presidency given what he described as Tinubu’s age and health concerns. Omokri responded by sharing a photograph he said was taken with Tinubu and journalist Dele Momodu in London in 1996, challenging Momodu to authenticate the image.
Omokri argued that if Tinubu were 90 in 2026, he would have been 60 years old when the photograph was allegedly taken, and questioned whether the President appeared that age in the image.
He also called on Momodu to clarify the photograph’s authenticity, referencing the journalist’s previous accounts of Tinubu’s support during his exile under the late military ruler Sani Abacha. Beyond the dispute, Omokri urged politicians to move away from what he described as “age-shaming” and focus their campaigns on substantive solutions to Nigeria’s problems.
Tinubu’s publicly stated date of birth is March 29, 1952, which would make him 74 years old in 2026. Atiku, who is now the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate for the 2027 election, has defended his own fitness to contest while criticizing the government’s handling of insecurity and promising to tackle insurgency within his first year if elected.
The dispute over Tinubu’s age therefore adds another personal dimension to an increasingly competitive 2027 presidential contest, even as both sides attempt to frame the election around leadership, competence and national challenges.