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A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Dele Momodu, has fired back at Reno Omokri and Femi Fani-Kayode, describing them as “perpetual agents of perfidy” lacking credibility.
In a statement titled ‘Reno Omokri & Femi Fani-Kayode: A Tale of Two Shameless Friends’, posted on his X handle on Wednesday, Momodu responded to separate attacks by the duo over his remarks on the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
Momodu said he initially intended to ignore the criticisms but chose to reply to avoid being “bullied into silence and submission”.
“They both have no credibility whatsoever,” he said, adding that the two men had previously made damaging comments about Tinubu that “they will never be able to erase”.
The Ovation Magazine publisher also dismissed claims that he had made baseless allegations against the President.
“I have never disparaged Tinubu in my life. I have never called him a murderer. I’m intelligent enough not to say what I have no proof of,” he stated.
Clarifying his position, Momodu maintained that his only accusation against Tinubu is what he described as “dictatorship”.
“All I have accused Tinubu of is dictatorship and I stand by it with my full chest,” he said, noting that his stance is shaped by Nigeria’s history of military rule.
He further revealed that he had previously toned down his criticism of the President out of respect for elder statesmen and past associations.
Momodu also alleged that both Omokri and Fani-Kayode had, at different times, privately reached out to him for support or reconciliation despite publicly attacking him.
“How Femi and Reno can continue to harass people on behalf of a Tinubu they’ve permanently damaged baffles me,” he added.
A public disagreement between two prominent figures in Nigeria’s political and media circles has intensified after former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode issued a sharply worded rebuke of Dele Momodu, the publisher and African Democratic Congress chieftain who compared President Bola Tinubu’s leadership to the military rule of the late General Sani Abacha.
Momodu made the comparison during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, hosted by Seun Okinbaloye, where he described Tinubu as a potential dictator.
“From what happened since 1999 when he became governor to 2007 when he left as governor of Lagos State, and then hijacked Lagos, since then till today, it was very clear to me that I didn’t need a prophet to tell me that we are dealing with a potential dictator,” Momodu said. “Some people have even described this moment as being worse than that of Abacha government.”
Abacha, who ruled Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998, presided over a period of severe political repression, the execution of activists including writer Ken Saro-Wiwa, and extensive documented human rights abuses. The invocation of his name as a point of comparison in Nigerian political commentary carries significant weight, and the remarks drew an immediate response.
Fani-Kayode, Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to Germany, responded in a statement titled “To My Brother Bobby Dee,” describing Momodu’s remarks as “misguided” and “uncharitable,” and characterizing the Tinubu-Abacha comparison as a reflection of “a worrisome level of cognitive dissonance.”
Despite the force of his criticism, Fani-Kayode maintained a veneer of personal warmth toward Momodu throughout the statement.
“I love Dele and God knows I have immense respect for him but he sounded drained, tired and broken and spoke little sense yesterday in his interview with Seun Okinbaloye of Channels TV,” he wrote, adding: “May I humbly suggest to him to try and take a break from politics and political commentary for a while, get his breath back and attempt to overhaul his intellectual engine?”
Read Also: He’s Our Leader – Adeleke Reaffirms Support For Tinubu
The criticism extended well beyond the Abacha comparison. Fani-Kayode accused Momodu of disrespecting not only the president but a broad range of government officials.
“Not only was he uncharitable and disrespectful to the President, the Vice President, the ministers, the senators and the newly-appointed ambassadors, many of whom have far more experience than him in governance and government, but he also insulted the collective intelligence of the Nigerian people,” he said.
A portion of the statement turned to party structure and electoral viability ahead of the 2027 general elections. Fani-Kayode directed pointed criticism at the ADC, the opposition platform with which Momodu is affiliated, arguing that the party had failed to build the organizational foundation necessary to function as a credible political force.
“The ADC cannot even be described as a sinking ship but rather as a badly patched-up inflatable plastic lifeboat that has not even managed to find its bearing or leave the harbour,” he said. “It has no engine, no sails, no oars, no captain, no crew, no navigational equipment, no muscle, no firepower, no war chest, no destination, and worse of all, it is made of rubber and not steel.”
He advised the party and Momodu to channel their energy into building internal capacity rather than sustaining attacks on the ruling All Progressives Congress. “He and his associates in the ADC should focus more on trying to build up their ranks and form a strong opposition that we can engage in the 2027 election rather than continuously talk about what our President and our party are doing,” he said.
