Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has launched a scathing attack on Ovation magazine publisher, Dele Momodu, accusing him of aligning with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for financial gains.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Olayinka said: “Dele Momodu will dump former Vice President Atiku Abubakar the moment money stopped flowing into his pocket from him (Atiku).”
He described Momodu as someone driven solely by personal interests. “Only someone like Dele Momodu, who does not have knowledge of anything apart from his stomach would claim that it was Wike that drove Peter Obi out of the PDP.”
Olayinka further accused Atiku of long working against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). “Atiku has been the weapon fashioned against the PDP since he frustrated the party’s efforts to win Lagos State in 2003,” he stated.
He dismissed claims made by Momodu regarding Atiku’s stance on power rotation in 2023, questioning Atiku’s motives. “It is funny that a supposed journalist could go on national television to lie that Atiku wanted the PDP to cede power to the Southeast in 2023. If that was true, why did Atiku obtain the Expression of Interest Form to contest for the PDP presidential ticket even when the Zoning Committee was yet to decide on zoning arrangement?”
“In his display of arrogance or mischief, Dele Momodu claimed that Atiku wanted PDP to field presidential candidate from the eastern part of the country, but he chose not to mention that the same Atiku had obtained Expression of Interest Form even when no decision had been taken on zoning.”
He went further: “Also, was it Wike that made it Senator Gbenga Daniel, who was the Director General of Atiku Campaign to leave PDP less than two weeks after the 2019 presidential election? Was it Wike that made Atiku’s running mate in the 2023 election, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa to leave the PDP? Former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel was the Chairman of the PDP Presidential Campaign in 2023, his successor, Governor Umo Eno is on his way out of the PDP.”
Olayinka posed a rhetorical question to underscore his point: “The question is, why did everyone who worked closely with Atiku during the 2019 and 2023 leave him after the election? The reason can only be because someone is a selfish person who is only about himself alone.”
He also took a jab at Momodu’s comments on Wike and the Southeast. “He (Dele Momodu) also claimed that Wike could have benefited from Atiku’s suggestion if he had not dissociated himself from the Southeast region, obviously forgetting that Wike is a proud Ikwerre man, unlike Dele Momodu who isn’t proud of his Edo origin,” Olayinka said.
While describing Momodu as a “fairweather friend,” the FCT Minister’s spokesperson concluded, “We are hearing all this noise from him because Atiku is paying his bills. Let Atiku stops paying, Oga Dele Momodu will move to the next victim.”
This latest salvo adds fuel to the ongoing feud in the PDP, with Dele Momodu’s loyalty to Atiku Abubakar now under public scrutiny. Observers are keen to see whether Dele Momodu will abandon Atiku if the financial ties are severed, further affecting Atiku Abubakar’s influence in PDP ahead of the 2027 election cycle.
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