
Ezekiel Awojide
A self-confessed friend of President Bola Tinubu, Dele Momodu, has accused the President of working towards estranging the opposition in the country. He also condemned the President for declaring a state of emergency in Rivers State.He said the President’s action was undemocratic. Tinubu’s decision, which includes suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and the Rivers State House of Assembly for six months, has sparked widespread criticism.Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Monday, Momodu said the move contradicted the democratic principles Tinubu once championed.Momodu said, “I think it is very unfortunate. I know President Tinubu very, very, very well. Though I’ve not been in the same party with him and all that, we were together in exile, and he fought gallantly for this democracy. ‘‘So a lot of us, co-comrades at that time, are actually very embarrassed that we have a pro-democracy leader in government, and yet what we are witnessing is worse than dictatorship. “And I have said it openly so many times, in many open letters, you can fail in economy, no problem; people will forgive you and say you’re not a professor of economics. You can fail in other areas, but don’t fail in democracy.“You must deepen our democracy, which President Goodluck Jonathan succeeded in doing, which (Olusegun) Obasanjo succeeded in doing, despite allegations and accusations of a third term attempt, still managed to hand over power to President (Umaru) Yar’Adua.”“I’m pleading with President Bola Tinubu, ‘Please don’t kill democracy in Nigeria.’ Everybody who loves him will tell him this. I don’t; I’ve not asked him for anything, but we love him for his contributions to the motivation in the back, which is what is going down the drain. “I’m saying it now openly to millions of Nigerians that people are deceiving President Tinubu, and he should not allow people to deceive you.“He should just do his job. The only thing that can guarantee a second term is to do your job well. You do not need to intimidate anybody.”