The Federal Capital Territory Minister and former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and veteran journalist Dele Momodu have sparked intense reactions across social media following a heated verbal exchange triggered by comments Wike made during a media chat on Thursday.
While speaking to selected journalists, Wike dismissed Momodu with disparaging remarks, referring to him as a “fat boy” and claiming not to know his name.
His response came after being asked about Momodu’s recent criticisms of his political conduct and what Momodu had described as a “loose tongue.”
“There is this boy, they say he is a journalist. What’s his name? He is big,” Wike said.
When one of the journalists mentioned Dele Momodu’s name, Wike replied:
“Okay, I don’t remember all these names. He was never my friend. He ran for president, but he didn’t get one vote.”
Wike’s remarks stirred controversy online, prompting users to unearth past photographs showing the two figures on seemingly cordial terms, fueling speculations of a past political alliance.
In response, Momodu, a 2023 presidential aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party, fired back in a strongly worded Facebook post, accusing Wike of being a habitual drinker whose memory loss was the result of excessive alcohol consumption.
“I can confirm that too much alcohol can do two things, dull the memory and get people emaciated,” he wrote.
Momodu continued, offering a stinging comparison between political failures:
“On elections, there’s no difference between the man who wasted billions on seeking power and still lost and the one who spent nothing and got nothing.
They are both losers… The difference here is one is an uncouth and uncultured local champion called ‘money miss road’ while the other is a decorous and refined global citizen surviving on contentment…”
He concluded his post with a veiled message, hinting at failed efforts to help Wike in the past and warning against underestimating others:
“We thought we could be of help but we failed because some souls are Irredeemable…
Lesson: NO ONE HAS A MONOPOLY OF MADNESS…”
