Nigerian ambassador-designate, Femi Fani-Kayode, on Thursday urged the Ovation Magazine Publisher, Dele Momodu, to stop criticising President Bola Tinubu.
He claimed that the President had been Momodu’s benefactor for decades.
The former Minister of Aviation stated this in a statement in Abuja, while reacting to Momodu’s criticism of the President during a television interview and in a statement.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain had in the interview on Channels Television likened the President’s style of governance to the dictatorship of former military Head of State, the late Gen. Sani Abacha.
In his reaction Fani-Kayode described the comments as “misguided, uncharitable, and a reflection of a worrisome level of cognitive dissonance.”
However, Momodu on Wednesday fired back at Fani-Kayode, and fellow ambassador-designate, Reno Omokri, who also criticised him, describing them as “perpetual agents of perfidy.”
Reacting on Thursday, Fani-Kayode urged Momodu to henceforth desist from further criticising the President, who he claimed fed and accommodated him for 40 years.
“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.”
He 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.”
“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 added.
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.
