‘The Demonic spirit of power and money have possessed Wike,’ says Dele Momodu
Ace journalist and former presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dele Momodu, has urged President Bola Tinubu not to promote the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
Speaking on Channels Television programme, Politics Today, Momodu asked Tinubu to put aside any political benefit he wants to get from Wike in the 2027 polls and put him where he belongs.
He said: “My appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is that no matter what you are expecting to gain from Wike in 2027, Wike is not the kind of character you should promote; he is not the kind of young man who should hijack our common patrimony.”
Momodu said political power derived from public offices and the privileges attached to the offices have changed Wike over the years. “When a man who had been a nobody gets power, he begins to change slowly and steadily.
“The oppressed man respects only one man: the oppressor. Wike used to respect only one man – Rotimi Amaechi. Rotimi Amaechi has been my friend from the time he was Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.”
Momodu said Wike’s metamorphosis started when he took power as a local government chairman in Rivers State. “Of course, after power in Nigeria comes the spirit of money. Also very demonic if you don’t know how to manage it well.”
He traced his close relationship to Wike to 2022 when the then governor of Rivers State reportedly invited him to the oil-rich Niger Delta state for the media coverage of some of the state’s projects. Wike was Rivers governor from May 2015 to May 2023 and was appointed minister in August 2023.
Momodu claimed that Wike benefited from his talents and that he branded him and worked on his reputation before their relationship broke down irreparably.
Momodu and Wike were once friends but their relationship toured sour when both men joined the race to become the 2023 presidential candidate of the PDP. Both men, among others, lost to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
“What we saw last Friday was a man no longer on this planet. Wike is consumed by the power he holds. The spirit of power and money is demonic when not managed properly. He drinks early in the morning. He introduced me to Akeshi, a strong alcohol, saying it helps him function. This is someone in public office.”
Momodu claimed his fall out with Wike stemmed from their mutual ambition to run for Nigeria’s presidency under the PDP. He said he had formally written to Wike about his intention to run, but was warned by a former president that he stood no chance due to the high cost of PDP primaries. “Wike had raised the stakes to $30,000 per delegate. That’s over N17 billion. Even if I sold my entire family, I couldn’t raise that kind of money,” he said.
Wike’s reaction to his candidacy, Momodu said, was dismissive and derisive. “He went on air and mocked me, asking what someone like me who lives on Twitter was doing in the race. That’s when I knew this wasn’t just about politics. It was personal,” Momodu said.
Despite acknowledging that he benefitted professionally from his relationship with Wike, Momodu was emphatic that his media firm delivered real value. “He gained massively from our expertise — our work helped polish his image. We trained him in public speaking and helped him clean up his act. But you can take a man out of the bush; you can’t take the bush out of the man,” he said.
When asked whether he still holds any grudge, Momodu said he has moved on but feels the need to set the record straight. “I won’t wrestle with a pig, as someone advised me. But I must say the truth. What Wike represents today is not the future Nigerians are looking for,” he said.
