PHOTOS: What Happened Between Remi Tinubu And I — Dele Momodu

Dele Momodu, publisher of Ovation magazine and a candidate for president under the Peoples Democratic Party, described his interaction with Senator Remi Tinubu, the wife of Bola Tinubu, the APC’s presidential candidate, at the chieftain of the party Kemi Nelson’s funeral on Friday. He claimed that he made the decision to put the interests of Nigeria above friendship.

Momodu, in a terse statement posted on his verified Instagram page via @delemomoduovation, said, “Only two people, apart from the photographers, witnessed what happened between me and Senator Oluremi Tinubu yesterday, at the funeral service of Chief Kemi Nelson, at (the) Archbishop Vining Memorial Church in Ikeja, Lagos.

“Before some people add salt and pepper to it, I need to state precisely what happened…

“Senator Tokunbo Abiru and Dr Tunji Olowolafe and I had walked in about the same time and we went to greet my very dear sister, Senator Oluremi Tinubu. Immediately she saw me, we exchanged our usual pleasantries and then she asked me, ‘So Bob Dee, you’re not going to campaign for my husband…?’ I smiled and remained very calm before replying: ‘Your Excellency, I’m in PDP…’ She apparently didn’t find it funny and regaled us with the past I shared with her husband and I tried to calm her down.

“Anyway, I went back to my seat and pondered on what just happened and I soliloquised: ‘Before the PDP Primary, I had been asked repeatedly by journalists if I’ll dump (the) PDP if I don’t get the ticket, my answer was NO. So if I had gotten the PDP ticket, would I step down for Tinubu of (the) APC, the answer is No.’

“I joined (the) PDP because the APC was leading Nigeria to Golgotha. The APC candidates are promising to continue Buhari’s ‘good works!’ I joined the PDP in order to sack APC from power and to do this I needed a strong opposition party. I had preached to my younger friends that only a mainstream party like the PDP can achieve this in 2023.

“This remains my conviction. I practise what I preach. Those who disagree are in other parties and I respect their opinions and wish them well. I’m in PDP.

“I love Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We’ve truly come way back. I love Professor Yemi Osinbajo. I love Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi… And all my APC friends… But the APC has done too much damage to Nigeria.

“I choose to place Nigeria above friendship… I will try my best to support and encourage our PDP candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to do the right things in our party and to rescue our dear beloved country from the vestiges of oppression, religious intolerance,  poverty, terrorism, infrastructure decay, economic wows, unemployment.

“God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”