Former presidential media aide, Reno Omokri has criticized veteran journalist and broadcaster Dr. Reuben Abati, accusing him of political bias in his analysis of President Bola Tinubu’s remarks regarding governance in Rivers State.
In a viral video shared on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, Mr Omokri responded to a segment aired on Arise Television, where Abati claimed the President was acting as a dictator by suggesting that the Federal Executive Council, FEC, would make laws for Rivers State.
Mr Omokri refuted the claim, insisting that Abati had misrepresented the President’s statement.
“The President never said that. If you listen to the broadcast by the President on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, what the President said is that the new Administrator will not make any laws for Rivers State.
“However, he will be free to make regulations, and those regulations will be under the supervision of the Federal Executive Council and will be promulgated by the President. Listen to the President.
“The President did not say that the Administrator would make laws. What the President said clearly, again, is that the Administrator would make regulations under the supervision of the Federal Executive Council. Regulations, not laws,” the former presidential media aide stated.
Mr Omokri further criticized Abati’s understanding of governance and legal distinctions.
He said: “Now, there’s a difference. And if a PhD holder does not know the difference between a regulation and a law, then it’s a sad reflection on Nigeria’s education sector.”
He also warned against misleading narratives that could fuel unnecessary agitation.
His words: “I’m going to break it down for those who listened to Dr. Abati’s broadcast and will now start maybe agitating for the National Assembly to impeach the President.
A law is a legal framework empowering a government or an authority. A regulation is a set of rules that enables a government or an authority to give effect to a law.”
Mr Omokri also questioned Abati’s intent, suggesting that political bias might have influenced his interpretation.
“It’s either he did not watch the President, or if he watched the President, then he does not understand the distinction between a regulation and a law. And there’s another option. It is possible that he has been blinded by his own political bias,” he stated.
Concluding his remarks, Mr Omokri called on Nigerian media outlets to ensure clarity between news reporting and personal opinions.
“That’s why it is important for television stations in Nigeria not to allow politically exposed persons to pass off their opinions as news. So it should be made clear to Nigerians who are watching any TV station that what you’re watching is not news, but the opinion of a person,” he said.
