We Packaged Peter Obi to Be Atiku’s Running Mate in 2019” — Reno Omokri Publishes 2018 Email as Evidence Amid Tensions With Obidients
The drama between Peter Obi’s supporters and Reno Omokri took another heated turn this week after Omokri, a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, made public what he described as irrefutable proof of his role in Peter Obi’s emergence as Atiku Abubakar’s running mate during the 2019 presidential election.
In a post on his verified social media account, Omokri shared a screenshot of an email purportedly sent to him by Peter Obi in 2018. The email, dated just days before Obi was officially announced as Atiku’s vice-presidential candidate, contains a single, now-viral line:
“I have been directed by our Oga to send my resume to you.”
Omokri claims this message is proof that he, among a small circle of political strategists close to Atiku Abubakar, was instrumental in selecting and preparing Peter Obi for national exposure and for the eventual role of vice-presidential candidate in 2019.
His decision to release the email came in response to growing attacks from some members of Obi’s support base—popularly known as “Obidients”—who had repeatedly accused Omokri of falsely inflating his political relevance and seeking to discredit Peter Obi for personal reasons.
The email, reportedly sent in October 2018, was short and formal. It was framed as a directive from a higher authority—presumably Atiku Abubakar—asking Obi to submit his curriculum vitae to Omokri as part of the internal screening and advisory process leading up to the 2019 general election.
Omokri posted the email with a caption aimed squarely at critics:
“You call me a liar? Here is the email Peter Obi sent to me in 2018. Four days later, he was announced as Atiku’s running mate. I was part of the packaging process. Deal with it.”
This revelation has sparked a fierce online debate about transparency, loyalty, political authorship, and the reshaping of historical narratives in Nigeria’s opposition politics. Many Obi supporters, already skeptical of Omokri’s frequent commentary on the former Anambra governor, saw the email release as an attempt to belittle Obi’s political agency and portray him as a manufactured product of northern or PDP elite interests.
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But others took a more nuanced view, arguing that the email—if authentic—merely reflects the routine backchannel consultations that often precede high-level political nominations in Nigeria’s democracy.
Peter Obi’s selection as Atiku Abubakar’s running mate for the 2019 general election was itself controversial. At the time, Obi was seen as a relatively quiet technocrat with strong credentials but limited grassroots structure beyond the South-East. His appointment was met with resistance from several PDP stakeholders, particularly from the South-East, where many felt sidelined in the decision-making process.
Several Igbo PDP governors reportedly felt blindsided by the announcement. There were closed-door complaints that Atiku had bypassed consultation with regional leaders in favour of making a unilateral decision. Despite these tensions, the Atiku-Obi ticket went forward, eventually losing the election to President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
Now, nearly six years later, the dynamics have shifted dramatically. Peter Obi has emerged as a national figure in his own right, leading the Labour Party’s presidential campaign in 2023 and garnering mass support, especially from younger Nigerians disillusioned with the traditional two-party system.
It is within this political realignment that Reno Omokri’s latest claims are making waves.
The timing and intention behind Omokri’s email release have raised critical questions. On the surface, it appears to be a response to personal attacks—an effort to reclaim credibility from a hostile online mob. But many political observers believe it also reflects deeper frustrations over the rapid rise of Peter Obi and the marginalisation of PDP veterans like Omokri, who once operated at the centre of power.
Omokri himself has become a polarising figure in recent years. Known for his social media activism, particularly his #FreeLeahSharibu campaign, and frequent commentary on Nigerian politics, he has consistently positioned himself as a defender of PDP orthodoxy and an opponent of what he calls “Obidient revisionism.”
In past posts, Omokri has accused Peter Obi’s supporters of rewriting history and elevating their candidate above criticism. He has also taken issue with what he perceives as ingratitude—arguing that many of Obi’s current admirers fail to acknowledge the political infrastructure and goodwill that elevated him in the first place.
“Without Atiku Abubakar, there would have been no Peter Obi on the national stage in 2019. And without that exposure, there would likely have been no Labour Party phenomenon in 2023,” Omokri argued.
His supporters echo this view, claiming that Obi’s current status as a political heavyweight owes much to the foundation laid during the 2019 campaign.
The Obidient movement, however, is pushing back hard. For them, the release of a private email from six years ago is less about transparency and more about ego. Many see it as a desperate attempt by Omokri to inject himself into the historical narrative of a movement that has largely outgrown the PDP framework.
On social media, reactions ranged from outrage to mockery.
“Omokri is the political version of that uncle who reminds everyone how he ‘paid your school fees’ just because you’re now successful,” one user tweeted.
Others questioned the ethics of publishing a private email sent in confidence, noting that it reveals more about Omokri than it does about Obi.
Some also pointed out that the email does not prove Omokri “packaged” Obi; it merely shows that Obi followed instructions from the top hierarchy of the PDP—an act of political protocol, not dependency.
At the heart of this story is a larger discussion about the role of political operatives, handlers, and strategists in shaping Nigerian electoral outcomes.
While candidates often dominate the spotlight, their emergence is almost always the result of intense backroom lobbying, endorsements, and strategic packaging. Reno Omokri’s claim—whether exaggerated or not—speaks to the reality that politicians are rarely self-made. Every candidacy is the product of coalition building, persuasion, and elite alignment.
In that sense, Omokri’s assertion is both plausible and mundane: of course, Peter Obi’s emergence in 2019 was facilitated by internal party decisions and advisory networks. What remains in question is the extent of Omokri’s influence and whether that influence warrants public recognition or self-congratulatory narrative-building.
Interestingly, Peter Obi himself has not responded to the publication of the email. True to form, the former Anambra governor has maintained his usual restraint, choosing silence over confrontation. This silence may be tactical—part of his broader strategy of appearing above the political fray and refusing to legitimise attacks with rebuttals.
But it also speaks to his evolving brand: one rooted in issue-based engagement, not personal drama. For many of his supporters, Obi’s refusal to engage in online mudslinging reinforces his status as a different kind of politician—one who leads with performance, not polemics.
Reno Omokri’s actions may also be interpreted as symptomatic of a deeper wound within the PDP: the party’s unresolved resentment toward Peter Obi’s departure and the subsequent electoral blow suffered in 2023.
Since leaving the PDP for the Labour Party in mid-2022, Obi has not only become a political disruptor but a rallying point for Nigeria’s disillusioned electorate. His 2023 campaign captured the imagination of millions of first-time voters, reshaped political discourse, and fractured PDP’s long-standing coalition in the South-East and parts of the South-South.
For party insiders like Omokri, this defection wasn’t just a political decision—it was a betrayal.
The release of the email can be seen as an attempt to reassert ownership over Obi’s early political trajectory. By saying “we packaged him,” Omokri is staking a claim to the credit, attempting to frame Obi’s success story as one that began under the PDP’s mentorship.
This episode is also a vivid illustration of the tension between legacy politics and populist movements. The PDP represents the old guard—a structure of party loyalty, internal hierarchies, and elite endorsements. The Obidient movement, by contrast, is driven by grassroots mobilisation, online engagement, and a rejection of traditional politics.
Reno Omokri, in many ways, embodies the former, while Peter Obi increasingly represents the latter.
What this clash reveals is the difficulty of reconciling the two. Omokri wants recognition for being part of Obi’s past. But the Obidient movement is more interested in Obi’s present—and future.
To them, it doesn’t matter how Obi got on the ticket in 2019. What matters is that he chose to break away and chart a new course in 2023.
Will this email saga change anything politically? Not likely. Peter Obi’s base is fiercely loyal and unlikely to be swayed by revelations of past political logistics. If anything, the email confirms that Obi was considered competent and reliable enough in 2018 to be shortlisted as vice president. That’s a plus, not a minus.
But the saga does reveal the extent to which Nigeria’s political elite are still grappling with the new political order. The rise of outsider candidates, the decline of party machinery, and the increasing power of online political identity have all disrupted business as usual.
As Nigeria heads toward 2027, the PDP will need to decide whether to continue litigating Obi’s past or to focus on building a future. For now, some in its ranks appear unable to let go of what they see as a missed opportunity—and perhaps a sense of abandonment.
In the end, Reno Omokri’s decision to publish a six-year-old email may be more about ego than evidence. It offers insight into the inner workings of high-level Nigerian politics, but it does little to undermine Peter Obi’s status as a self-driven political force.
If anything, the episode reflects the enduring bitterness within the PDP establishment and the difficulty many political veterans have in adjusting to a world where their influence is no longer guaranteed.
History will judge Peter Obi’s political journey not by who packaged him in 2019, but by what he chooses to do in 2027 and beyond.
And as for Reno Omokri, he may have won the battle of receipts—but the war for narrative control belongs to the people.