Reno Omokri, Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua, has challenged former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s claim that President Bola Tinubu is 90 years old.
Atiku made the claim during a BBC interview published on Friday, insisting that he had evidence to establish Tinubu’s alleged age and would present it in court.
“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?” Atiku said.
Asked about the basis for the claim, the former vice-president said he had evidence to support it.
“I have evidence that he is, and I will present it in court,” he added.
Reacting, Omokri posted a photograph purportedly showing Tinubu with journalist and publisher Dele Momodu in London in 1996, arguing that the image cast doubt on Atiku’s claim.
Omokri urged Momodu to authenticate the photograph, including when and where it was taken.
“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 said.
He argued that if Tinubu were 90 in 2026, he would have been 60 when the photograph was taken 30 years 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?” Omokri asked.
He also recalled Momodu’s previous accounts of Tinubu’s support for him while he was in exile during the administration of the late military ruler, Sani Abacha.
Omokri said Momodu was free to support any candidate ahead of the 2027 election but urged him not to remain silent over what he described as an attempt to portray his former associate as an elderly and unhealthy politician.
He further called for political campaigns to focus on issues affecting Nigerians rather than candidates’ ages.
“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 said.
Tinubu’s publicly stated date of birth is March 29, 1952, which puts his age at 74 in 2026. His age and academic records have been the subject of political controversy over the years.
Meanwhile, Atiku, who recently emerged as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress for the 2027 election, maintained that he was physically fit to contest.
“Why should you question me on my right? It is my constitutional right. I am strong, I am healthy, I am agile,” he said.
The former vice-president also criticised the Federal Government’s handling of insecurity and promised that, if elected, his administration would significantly reduce insurgency and insecurity within its first year in office.
