Nigerian ambassador-designate Femi Fani-Kayode on Thursday urged African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain Dele Momodu to stop criticising President Bola Tinubu, whom he said had been his benefactor for decades.
Fani-Kayode made the remark in a statement in Abuja, responding to Momodu’s recent comments about the president during a television interview and a separate statement.
In the interview on Channels Television, Momodu compared Tinubu’s governance style to the dictatorship of the late military Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha. Fani-Kayode had earlier dismissed the comparison as “misguided, uncharitable, and a reflection of a worrisome level of cognitive dissonance.”
Momodu, however, on Wednesday fired back at Fani-Kayode and fellow ambassador-designate Reno Omokri, describing them as “perpetual agents of perfidy and lacking in credibility.”
Reacting on Thursday, Fani-Kayode urged the veteran journalist and media entrepreneur to desist from further criticism, saying Tinubu “fed and accommodated” him for forty years. He described Momodu’s response as “emotional, unhinged, and devoid of logic,” and counselled him to “stay in his lane” and completely “back off” the president going forward.
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“Unlike Dele, I did not benefit from him (Tinubu) for close to 40 years, eat from his plate, or collect handouts from him.
“I did not stay in his house, claim to be his brother and yet refuse to support him in achieving his dream of becoming president,” Fani-Kayode said.
The former minister also warned Momodu, whom he described as his brother and friend, that he would no longer tolerate his attempts to misrepresent facts or launch personal attacks against him.
Fani-Kayode said he had maintained respect and restraint toward Momodu out of longstanding acquaintance, but “the time for silence is now over, and the game is now on.”
“For Bobby Dee, the glory days are certainly over, and I suspect that by 2027, when Tinubu emerges victorious, he will crawl back into the hole that he originally came from.
“I actively campaigned in 2023 and will continue to support the administration’s reform programmes because they are in Nigeria’s national interest.
“Not only did I fight for Tinubu in 2023 during the presidential campaign, but I have remained loyal and committed to him and his cause since then, and I have no apology for that either,” he said.
Fani-Kayode also criticised Momodu’s political alliances, saying they lack credibility and are not yet prepared to take on the challenges of serious governance.
According to him, the nation’s opposition parties are ineffective and unworthy of attention in shaping Nigeria’s political future.
His commitment to President Tinubu’s administration, he explained, was due to the reforms he initiated since 2023, which he described as essential for Nigeria’s stability and prosperity.
“There are no permanent friends or enemies, but only permanent interests, and in my view, it is in the interest of Nigeria that Tinubu continues the reforms that he started in 2023 after he was elected president.
“It is also my view that Nigeria must never fall into the hands of the conglomeration of court jesters and motley crew of insufferable jokers that Dele is now speaking, slaving and fronting for.
“For him to compare Tinubu to Abacha was wrong, and if he was anything like the dictator that Dele claims he is, both Dele and those he speaks for today would either be dead or in jail,” he said.
The former minister warned that, henceforth, he would no longer remain silent “as Momodu and his associates continue to throw mud at the President.”
(NAN)
