A heated exchange has erupted between prominent opposition figure Arc Uche Rochas of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former presidential aide Reno Omokri, following Omokri’s defence of President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies.
In a post on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Thursday July 10, 2025, Rochas criticised Omokri for what he described as hypocrisy and cowardice, reminding him of his self-imposed exile during Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
“During President Buhari’s 8-year rule as a democratically elected leader, Reno Omokri was in exile the entire time. He shouldn’t speak when real men are talking. Coward,” Rochas wrote.
The outburst came after Omokri appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday, where he argued that Nigeria’s economy is now on a more sustainable path under Tinubu compared to the Buhari years.
Omokri described the previous administration as an “economic illusion,” saying Nigerians had been living in a “fool’s paradise.”
“We were living beyond our means. Tinubu has taken that away, and we are now living within our means,” he said, adding that borrowing to fund consumption was unsustainable.
According to him, under Buhari, the government borrowed excessively, citing ₦28 trillion in loans allegedly taken by former Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele without National Assembly approval.
“They were using that money to artificially inflate the value of the naira. We cannot keep borrowing just to give people food. We need to produce. That’s why exports are going up, and imports are coming down,” Omokri asserted.
Omokri also claimed that Nigeria’s debt stock has dropped under Tinubu — from $113 billion at the end of Buhari’s tenure to $97 billion presently.
“As of 2015, Nigeria owed $63 billion. When Buhari left, it stood at $113 billion. Under Tinubu, it’s now $97 billion. That’s a reduction of over $14 billion. We should appreciate this man,” he said.
When asked about widespread hardship among Nigerians, Omokri argued that short-term pain was necessary for long-term gain.
“The impression people have is that things are worse, but we have to look inward. Everything Tinubu is doing are the same things Peter Obi and Atiku promised they would do,” he noted.
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