Yesterday, the presidential campaign teams of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, went toe-to-toe. Messrs Festus Keyamo and Dele Momodu fought dirty.
Keyamo is the chief spokesperson of the Tinubu/Shettima APC Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, while Momodu is the director of strategic communications of the Atiku/Okowa PDP Presidential Campaign Council.
The duo exchanged brick-bats over the manifestos of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. While attacking themselves they also rubbished the chances of Tinubu and Atiku in the 2023 Presidential poll.
Momodu had dismissed Tinubu’s 80-page manifesto as “APC manifesto of lies” while the APC countered that Atiku’s manifesto was not original and merely copied President Muhammadu’s projects.
Momodu, Publisher of Ovation Magazine, in his response said Keyamo’s attack was “erratic vituperation” while on a counter Keyamo described Momodu as “a hopeless owambe clown” who has begun “his dance of shame in the open.”
Keyamo’s erratic vituperation — Momodu
The Ovation magazine publisher attacked Keyamo saying that Keyamo has failed as a minister and ought to have resigned. He also attacked Tinubu describing him as a leader who uses and abandons his followers.
“I have just read Festus Keyamo’s response to my critique of the APC Manifesto of lies. I’m not surprised that all he could do was yell as usual without examining or practically addressing the content of my article.
“Let me take a few minutes to educate this young friend of mine who has since become a shadow of his old self since he was offered an appointment that makes him look so incompetent, by President Muhammadu Buhari. Any self-respecting soul would have since resigned but Festus Keyamo was not at home the day shame came visiting. The Ministry in which he’s a mere figurehead is in total shambles and only a Bola Tinubu would have given the job of a spokesperson to such a certified nuisance.
“What did Festus say I did wrong? He quoted copiously from an article I wrote about two years ago, which the Tinubu media teams have been using to campaign endlessly because they have no stronger voice of their own. I’m indeed flattered.
There is no doubt that I love Tinubu the Man but I disagree vehemently with Tinubu the Politician. This is not the first time I will say it publicly. Since I now have the opportunity of presenting the bones of my disagreement with Tinubu, courtesy of Festus Keyamo, I will lay them bare.”
He continued: “Tinubu has declined in the last few years. I used to see him as a man of his people but no supposed generalissimo would ever abandon his people in days of trouble and tribulation. None of the people around him could tell him the truth for pecuniary reasons. He knows it himself but he desperately wants to be President of Nigeria, by fire by force, after he has lost most of his formidable foot soldiers, and now relying on outsiders to activate and actualize his lifelong ambition for him, which is his legitimate right. But Nigerians have the right to scrutinise his action plans
Recalling Tinubu’s hard-line posture and maltreatment of loyalists, he said: “When he (Tinubu) was to be impeached for some infractions, and many of his so-called loyalists were washing off their hands clean, like the Biblical Pontius Pilate, my very dear friend, Tokunbo Afikuyomi, stood by him like the Rock of Gibraltar. But how did he repay Tokunbo who took all the bullets? This shameless Festus Keyamo was one of those who wanted to run Tinubu out of town. Nduka Obaigbena and I had to step in at some point before he could consider Tokunbo for anything. Tokunbo had wanted to be the Governor of Lagos State and Tinubu goaded him on and allowed him to waste his resources. It was when I got Chief Harry Akande to give Tokunbo the ANPP Governorship ticket for Lagos State that Tinubu suddenly realised he had offended his “suicide bomber!
“Nigeria is looking for a President, with compassion and competence, not an Emperor! Tinubu is a man who loves to bait the Masquerade with a goat but will never release the rope. That’s why he kept losing his best friends like Musiliu Obanikoro, Ambode, Muiz Banire, Opeyemi Bamidele, Rauf Aregbesola, Fuad Oki, Yemi Osinbajo, etc.”
A hopeless Owambe clown begins open dance of shame — Keyamo
Responding, Keyamo said: “After reading through Mr Dele Momodu’s rather emotional outburst in response to otherwise salient points raised in the statement we issued asking him to point out specific areas of plagiarism in Asiwaju’s Action Plan, my feeling oscillated between delirious laughter and outright pity for the pathetic wreck his life has actually become. Here is a miserable fellow who having previously overrated himself, crashed down like a wingless bird from a futile presidential ambition (for which he got zero votes in the PDP Presidential primaries), and ended up as a hyperactive hireling and attack dog of perhaps the worst serial loser in Nigeria’s electoral history.
“Funnily enough, the only curriculum vitae he truly possesses to even make an attempt at the Presidency is no more than mere photo ops with celebrities and the high-and-mighty in society. This is the sad story of a hopeless clown in his 60s who is desperately looking to pick whatever pieces are left of his life by shamelessly worming his way into the pockets of Atiku Abubakar and making himself available to execute dirty jobs against his long-standing benefactor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Mr Momodu’s epistle of lamentations is again a re-affirmation of his manifest lack of rigour. In his latest rambling piece, he failed again to redeem himself on the gross theoretical deficiency identified in his earlier writing. One would have thought he would seize this “second chance” to copiously point out portions or areas plagiarized by the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Council from MKO’s 1993 campaign manifesto named “Hope 1993”.
“Typically, what the readers were then subjected to was another orgy of almost interminable name-dropping of socialites and the likes in Nigeria. But he seems oblivious of the fact that not many serious-minded Nigerians are easily swayed by such tabloid show-boating.
“For instance, this time around, Mr Momodu was quick to don the toga of ‘freedom fighter’ on behalf of Akinwunmi Ambode for not getting a second term ticket in APC in 2018 ahead of the Lagos governorship polls in March 2019. Well, let us pretend that we do not know the open secret that he was a well-serviced ‘PR consultant’ to the same Ambode. “
Keyamo a mere attention seeker — Momodu
Countering, Momodu described Keyamo as an attention seeker, saying among others: “You and I never interacted much other than on occasions when you needed free publicity as always and would do anything for attention.
“You will recall that you practically photobombed yourself into our picture the day I walked into Major General Muhammadu Buhari’s apartment in London because it was an opportunity for you to trend. You’re a media creation and we supplied you with oxygen regularly.“