Nigeria’s Ambassador-designate to Germany, Femi Fani-Kayode, has declared a ceasefire in the bitter and deeply personal war of words between himself and Ovation magazine publisher Dele Momodu, announcing that highly respected leaders had intervened to bring the three-day public brawl to an end.
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The feud, which drew in former presidential aide and Ambassador-designate to Israel, Reno Omokri, featured some of the most vicious personal insults exchanged between public figures in recent Nigerian political history — threatening at one point to overshadow President Bola Tinubu’s historic state visit to the United Kingdom.
The crisis was triggered when Momodu, a chieftain of the opposition African Democratic Congress, appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme and compared President Tinubu’s leadership style to that of former military ruler Sani Abacha, describing the President as a dictator.
Momodu, who has declared support for the candidacy of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for the 2027 presidential election, dismissed the chances of Tinubu winning a second term despite the massive defection of governors and other political figures to the ruling APC.
The remarks infuriated Fani-Kayode, who launched the first salvo in what would become a three-day exchange of increasingly personal attacks.
In a lengthy statement posted on social media titled “To My Brother Bobby Dee,” Fani-Kayode described Momodu as a “bread hawker, political prostitute, and glutton of the ages.” He accused the publisher of being opportunistic and having a history of shifting political alliances for personal gain.
The Ambassador-designate traced Momodu’s career from his university days, questioned his political record — highlighting his failed presidential bid in which he reportedly received only one vote — and accused him of betraying former political allies including the late MKO Abiola and President Tinubu.
“All I know about you is that you were once a journalist, you followed Chief MKO Abiola around like a court jester and collected crumbs from him for much of your life. You became a hustler and a photographer after he was incarcerated, and you ran for President and got only one vote, which came from your wife,” Fani-Kayode wrote.
He also took aim at the ADC, describing it as incapable of serving as credible opposition.
“The ADC cannot even be described as a sinking ship but rather as a badly patched-up inflatable plastic lifeboat that has not even managed to find its bearing or leave the harbour. It has no engine, no sails, no oars, no captain, no crew, no navigational equipment, no muscle, no firepower, no war chest, no destination, and worse of all, it is made of rubber and not steel,” Fani-Kayode stated.
He warned Momodu to be careful, adding: “He should stay in his lane, otherwise I will give him plenty to write about. Game on!”
Momodu responded with equal ferocity, describing Fani-Kayode as “a thug,” “a bully,” and “a classic case of a wasted investment” despite his privileged educational background.
“He went to Cambridge University, probably a fourth generation in his family, but became an enfant terrible, fighting anyone and anything, including esoteric spirits, in sight. All supplication and intercession by friends and family on his behalf have failed to cure his strange malady,” Momodu wrote.
The publisher questioned Fani-Kayode’s suitability for a diplomatic posting, asking: “And this is the man President Bola Tinubu is about to unleash on Germany as an Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for God’s sake.”
Momodu made a damaging claim that Fani-Kayode had been working on a “Plan B,” allegedly begging friends to help him reach out to Atiku Abubakar in case the expected appointment from Tinubu did not materialize.
“Femi without power is like a fish out of water,” Momodu declared.
He also accused Fani-Kayode of recently seeking his help — as recently as February 11, 2026 — to publish family achievements in Ovation magazine and of using the publication to celebrate his son’s birthday without charge.
“He still begged me to help him publish. And I gladly obliged him, after which he sent ‘Thanks brother. Very kind of you.’ Is he already suffering from dementia?” Momodu asked.
On the substance of his Tinubu remarks, Momodu stood firm: “I have never disparaged Tinubu in my life. My only grouse against Tinubu is dictatorship and I stand by it with my full chest.”
He also fired back at the suggestion that Tinubu’s democratic credentials meant critics were safe, saying both Fani-Kayode and Omokri had previously attacked Tinubu far more harshly before switching sides for appointments.
Former presidential aide Reno Omokri waded into the fight, responding to Momodu’s suggestion of a possible Atiku-Obi ticket in 2027. Omokri warned that such a pairing would fail in the north due to religious sensitivities.
“To think that a joint ticket with a man like Peter Obi, who was caught on a leaked audio vowing to unleash religious war on the Muslim Ummah, is going to unseat a strong incumbent just confirms that Dele Momodu should have stuck to glamour journalism rather than make a pivot to politics,” Omokri wrote.
He also denied Momodu’s claim that he had previously reached out to reconcile after past disagreements.
“I have never reached out to you privately for reconciliation. NEVER. If you have evidence about that, please publicise it now,” Omokri stated.
He urged Momodu to “focus on hyping fading Big Brother contestants and leave politics to those with a thick enough skin.”
Fani-Kayode fired another round, slamming Momodu for referencing his father and educational background.
“Dele Momodu has got his knickers in a twist yet again. Poor soul. He is clearly tormented,” Fani-Kayode wrote.
He defended his 30-year career in Nigerian politics and dismissed Momodu’s relevance: “No matter what you say about me, I have been active in the corridors of power for over 30 years.”
He also rejected accusations that he had wanted to work with Atiku, saying he left the PDP in 2021 and had remained loyal to Tinubu since.
As the feud escalated, former presidential spokesperson Tolu Ogunlesi weighed in on X, warning against any external intervention and advising complete neutrality.
Ogunlesi noted that the escalating battle between the two men — both over 60 years of age — threatened to overshadow President Tinubu’s historic state visit to the United Kingdom, with no ceasefire in sight.
After three days of increasingly bitter exchanges, Fani-Kayode announced on Thursday that a ceasefire was in place following the intervention of what he described as numerous highly respected leaders.
“As a consequence of the intervention of numerous highly respected leaders for whom I have the greatest admiration, a ceasefire between myself and my friend and brother Bobby Dee is now in place,” Fani-Kayode posted on social media.
“I will make no more comments about him and hopefully he will do same. We are both Nigerians and we share common values even though we disagree politically. I believe we can both move on with our lives peacefully as from today despite the hurtful things that were said on both sides over the last 24 hours.”
He thanked all those who intervened and expressed hope that the ceasefire would hold.
Momodu had not publicly responded to the ceasefire declaration as of the time of this report.
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