Dele Momodu to Nyesom Wike: “You have been crying like a baby whose lollipop was taken, Atiku defeated you, get a life”

By KEMI KASUMU

Momodu said, “Yes he (Fayose) is right that it is embarrassing.  But who are the people causing the embarrassment? They are members of his group led by Minister of the FCT, former Governor Nyesom Wike. So if he says it is embarrassing, he knows what to do. I have never seen a situation where an opposition party will voluntarily, openly, shamelessly work for the ruling party. We are supposed to be in opposition.”

Dele Momodu, a former presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has addressed the ongoing grievances of former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike within the party.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today interview programme Monday night, Chief Momodu advised Wike to let go of his frustrations stemming from the 2022 PDP presidential primary election, where he lost to Atiku Abubakar.

Momodu emphasized that Wike should stop “dwelling on the past,” urging him to recognize the achievements he has made in his political career.

He highlighted Wike’s successful tenure as governor of Rivers State and his current role as a minister, suggesting that these accomplishments should serve as a foundation for his future endeavors.

In a candid remark, Momodu stated, “You have been crying like a baby whose lollipop was taken away from him, every day you are crying. Atiku defeated you, get a life.”

He acknowledged Wike’s capabilities and urged him to focus on his current responsibilities rather than lamenting past electoral losses.

The former presidential aspirant’s comments come amid ongoing discussions within the PDP regarding unity and reconciliation after a divisive primary season.

Wike’s discontent has been evident since the 2022 election, and his criticisms have raised concerns about party cohesion as the PDP prepares for future electoral challenges.

Momodu’s call for Wike to redirect his energy towards constructive engagement reflects a broader sentiment among some party members who believe that unresolved grievances could hinder the PDP’s ability to present a united front.

By encouraging Wike to embrace his achievements and responsibilities, Momodu aims to foster a sense of purpose and optimism within the party ranks.

Asked by anchor of the Channels Television’s Politics Today interview programme, Seun Okinbaloye, from the Abuja Studio, to react to former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose’s comment that the situation within the PDP currently is embarrassing, Dele Momodu, who spoke from the Lagos Studio, rather blamed Fayose and his group for the embarrassment.

Momodu said, “Yes he (Fayose) is right that it is embarrassing.  But who are the people causing the embarrassment? They are members of his group led by Minister of the FCT, former Governor Nyesom Wike. So if he says it is embarrassing, he knows what to do. I have never seen a situation where an opposition party will voluntarily, openly, shamelessly work for the ruling party. We are supposed to be in opposition.

“I just heard you now saying Umar Damagum, the suspended Acting Chairman, suspended because a faction suspended him and he too suspended others, said that he will use the police force. When did PDP become a military wing in Nigeria where you will apply force on members of your own party? And what gives you the power to unleash security forces?”

He continued, “I read as a student in Ife and interacting with some lawyers about a principle of law …that a man cannot be a judge in his own court. So now (smiling) Damagum is a judge and he’s not satisfied with being a judge, he’s now a security man, who will unleash security (forces) on fellow members of his own party. It tells you about what is going on in our party. It’s very unfortunate.”

On how he knew that Ayo Fayose and his group including Nyesom Wike caused the PDP crisis, Chief Momodu got confident about his claims.

He said, “Yes, truth is constant they have never hidden their mission in the struggle ongoing in the PDP. They have never hidden it even on your programme, go on Google all they have said. They boasted that they worked for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2023 and they’ve also said it in advance that they will work for him in 2027 and they will remain in PDP and will not leave the PDP, so that they can continue to hold PDP down, press its neck on behalf of whoever they are working for, but, ultimately, they are working for themselves because they also have their own game plan.

“Everybody knows even members of the APC, they know that these guys are playing game. They are hoping that somewhere along the line, President Tinubu may not run in 2027 and then they will hold PDP down so that they can use it because they know APC will never give them their platform. Nobody is going to allow you, after destroying your own group, to come and destroy their own. Everybody knows.

“As a journalist, I interact at the highest level, at the lowest level, I have access to information and it is unfortunate that these guys are leading to golgota. And the party is very clear. If Dr. Iyorchia Ayu has left, the next person to occupy that position must come from his part of the country, the North Central region of Nigeia and, as at the last check, I didn’t see that Damagum is from the North Central Nigeria. So why is he fighting tooth and nail to hold on to power like a military dictator to the extent that he’s now saying he will unleash, let him unleash terror on fellow members of his party and let’s see how it goes. The who world is watching.”

On his thought about Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, as leader of the party, galvanising support of those that claimed that they’ve laboured for the party to reconcile the party, he said, “Two things. You said they claimed that they’ve laboured for the party. As a matter of fact, the party has laboured for them. They gained more from the party than the party ever gained from them. That is number one.

“Number two, have you seen a woman who will fall into labour? I’ve witnessed my wife a couple of times falling into labour and I know how difficult it is. And then after delivering the baby, you will now say because you are fighting your husband for whatever reason, you are going to kill the baby. Is that possible? That’s what they are doing. Simple logic, I went to Ife and I read logic, these guys don’t apply logic to everything they are saying.

“You are saying Atiku should reign them in, how, when Atiku is their main target? You heard everything that Governor Ayo Fayose was saying last night saying tgat Atiku should get out of politics. Is that democracy? I don’t care if Atiku decides he doesn’t want to run, that is his personal business but it is not Fayose that will tell Atiku to run or not to run.

“If he says Atiku is too old, let him come out, I challenge him I know he’s a very bold person normally, let him come out and say Tinubu should not run in 2027. Let Wike come and say Tinubu should not run in 2027,” he mocked Fayose and Wike and continued.

“We fought for this democracy. I am a part time politician. I am a man of modest income. I am not chasing anything in PDP or outside PDP but I just want Nigeria to be  good because, if Nigeria is good, Nigeria parades some of tge greatest human beings on earth, if Nigeria is good you don’t need a godfather. If Nigeria is good, you don’t have to depend on politics for a living.

“A lot of Nigerians depend permanently, parasitically on politics for a living and we told them many times, you lost an election, a primary in 2022, get over it, get a life. You are crying like a baby everyday, a bay whose lollipop has been taken away from him everyday you are crying. Atiku defeated you. Get a life and you already have a life.”