social media point man, Reno Omokri and has replaced him with Obi
Asika who takes over as the new senior special assistant on social
media.
According to SaharaReporters, Mr. Jonathan move is seen as an apparent
maneuver to re-energize his social media image following a growing
slide in his electoral fortunes, as well as a series of scandals
involving Reno. Until now, Reno Omokri ran the office, heading the
President's campaign social media team.
A source at the Presidency revealed that Mr. Omokri, who returned from
California to boost President Jonathan's political campaigns in 2011,
had become a huge liability and source of distraction. Mr. Omokri, who
also doubles as a pastor, came to be known as "Wendell Simlin" after
tech-savvy Nigerian social media activists caught him red-handed as he
circulated reports on the Internet that claimed to have found a link
between former Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, and
Islamist terror group Boko Haram. The claims were discovered to be
fraudulent and false.
Last week, Mr. Omokri was accused of leading policemen to burglarize a
house in Warri, Delta State that belonged to his late mother. The
occupants of the house, including Alex Oyoro, a well known PDP
political figure in Delta State, alleged that Mr. Omokri had led a
group of thugs and mobile police officers who broke into the property
and stole N25 million in cash. The money, according to Mr. Oyoro, was
meant for Mr. Jonathan's re-election campaign.
Mr. Omokri denied being physically present at the scene of the
burglary, claiming he was at his desk in Abuja and also doing some
pastoral work at the time of the reported burglary.
And that's how the cookie crumbled for Reno Omokri
