Publisher of Ovation magazine and former presidential candidate, Dele Momodu, has alleged that Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), paid $30,000 to each delegate during the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2022 presidential primaries.

Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme aired on Monday, Momodu revealed that he was sternly warned by a former Nigerian president to jettison the idea of participating in the race, considering the amount of money being offered to delegates by Wike.

“A former president of Nigeria sent someone to tell me not to waste my money on the PDP 2022 primaries because Wike had raised the stakes to $30k per delegate; $30k multiplied by 774 delegates.

“What I expected of him was that if you weren’t going to support a man, if you’re going to run, run a fair race, and let’s leave it there,” he said.

Momodu also expressed concern over Wike’s troubling transformation since assuming the role of FCT minister under the Tinubu administration.

“When a man who had been a nobody gets power, he begins to change slowly and steadily,” he said.

Momodu and Wike were both contenders in the 2022 PDP primaries, which ultimately saw former Vice President Atiku Abubakar emerge as the party’s presidential candidate.

“My appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is that no matter what you are expecting to gain from Wike in 2027, Wike is not the kind of character you should promote; he is not the kind of young man who should hijack our common patrimony,” he warned. (The Guardian)