In a startling and deeply personal revelation, Dele Momodu, veteran journalist, publisher of Ovation International, and former presidential aspirant, has opened up on what he described as the dark underbelly of Nigeria’s political process—pointing fingers directly at Nyesom Wike, the current Minister of the FCT.
Speaking during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Monday, July 7, Momodu claimed that ahead of the 2022 PDP presidential primaries, Wike had allegedly turned the race into a money game by offering $30,000 per delegate, effectively pricing out other aspirants.
According to Momodu, a former Nigerian president even reached out to advise him to steer clear of the race, warning him about the “obscene level of financial inducement.”
“A former president of Nigeria sent someone to tell me not to waste my money on the PDP 2022 primaries because Wike had raised the stakes to $30k per delegate… do the math,” Momodu said pointedly.
He didn’t stop there. Dele Momodu spoke like someone who had seen too much and stayed too long—describing a version of Wike the public never sees. The man he once sat and drank with, he says, has been radically transformed by power.
“When a man who had been a nobody gets power, he begins to change slowly and steadily,” Momodu said, referencing Wike’s political rise under former governor Rotimi Amaechi—the very man he once revered, now his sworn rival.
Momodu revealed that Wike once introduced him to a strong alcoholic beverage, Akeshi, claiming it helped him function through the rigours of public life.
“He drinks early in the morning… this is someone in public office,” Momodu lamented, implying that Wike’s grip on power may be as intoxicating as the liquor he reportedly consumes.
He framed Wike’s behaviour—his brashness, his political gambling, his confrontational posture—as a warning about what power does to men unprepared for its weight:
“The spirit of power and money is demonic when not managed properly,” he said solemnly.
His concerns extended beyond personal grudges. Dele Momodu’s words sounded more like a national reflection—on how money politics, unchecked ambition, and personal excesses are eroding the soul of Nigerian democracy.
For a country where elections often hinge more on dollars than on ideas, and where loyalty shifts faster than a politician’s next toast, Momodu’s account is not just gossip—it’s a cautionary tale.
As the 2027 elections approach and political alliances continue to shift, his message cuts through the noise: “Power reveals who we are. And in the end, it either refines us or ruins us.”
