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A former Mayor of Blanco, Texas, United States, Mike Arnold, has criticised President Bola Tinubu over the inclusion of Reno Omokri among the 32 additional ambassadorial nominees submitted to the Senate for confirmation.
Arnold, a longstanding critic of Omokri, has repeatedly accused him of downplaying the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
He made the remarks in a Facebook post on Saturday, accusing the President of making appointments that, in his view, undermine Nigeria’s integrity and national unity.
He described the appointments—particularly those of Omokri and former minister Femi Fani-Kayode—as “tone deaf”, alleging that the President prioritised loyalty over competence.
Arnold further claimed the development sends a negative message to young Nigerians about the values needed to progress in the country.
Tinubu had on Saturday forwarded 32 new ambassadorial nominees to the Senate, comprising 15 career diplomats and 17 non-career nominees.
However, Arnold said: “With his recently announced ambassadorial appointments, Tinubu again proves not only to be tone deaf, but deaf, dumb and blind. The world is watching. Appointing Omokri and FFK reveals that he values money-grubbing, boot-licking, genocide-denying sycophants who flip flop on issues of substance on command over those who show even a shred of competence or integrity.
“He’s further confirming himself to be a corrupt dictator who doesn’t care one bit about the unity of Nigeria or her everyday citizens.
“Even worse, what does this shameful tit-for-tat rewarding of slimy actors tell Nigerian children? It tells them that to advance in Nigeria today, the first step is to sell your soul and abandon any hint of honour. This is truly shameful.
“If anyone doubted that Nigeria is a disgraced, corrupt nation, today’s appointments prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt.
