Chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dele Momodu, has pledged extreme support for President Bola Tinubu ahead of 2027 provided the president governs according to the democratic ideals both men once fought for as pro-democracy activists while renewing his warning against what he has repeatedly called Nigeria’s drift toward “civilian dictatorship.”
Momodu and Tinubu share a personal history dating back to Nigeria’s pro-democracy struggle of the 1990s. During his exile in the United Kingdom from 1995 to 1999, Momodu worked alongside pro-democracy activists, including National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) figures such as Tinubu, in opposing General Sani Abacha’s military regime and campaigning for the restoration of civilian rule following the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
That shared history has repeatedly shaped Momodu’s public commentary on Tinubu’s presidency, oscillating between calls for loyalty to their common democratic cause and sharp warnings when he believes the president has strayed from it. His pledge to go to extreme lengths in support of Tinubu should the president “practise what we fought for” fits into this recurring pattern: Momodu’s backing has consistently been framed as conditional on Tinubu upholding the democratic values both men risked their safety for during the Abacha years, rather than as unconditional political loyalty.
Momodu’s conditional support comes against the backdrop of numerous public warnings he has issued against what he describes as Nigeria’s slide toward authoritarian governance under Tinubu. In one widely circulated remark, Momodu said: “All I have accused Tinubu of is DICTATORSHIP and I stand by it with my full chest. I oppose tyranny because I once suffered under it. Chief Moshood Abiola won an election but dictatorship deprived him of his victory. Why should we replace military dictators with civilian slavemasters?”
He has made similar arguments on several occasions over the past year. In March 2025, following Tinubu’s declaration of emergency rule in Rivers State, Momodu said he and fellow pro-democracy campaigners of the Abacha era were “very embarrassed” by developments in the country, stating: “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.” Speaking again in September 2025, he wrote on X: “I stand gidigba by my opinion that what we have now is civilian dictatorship,” while stressing that constructive criticism should apply to all leaders, not only political opponents.
More recently, Momodu has urged Tinubu to make his case for re-election in 2027 based on the demonstrable achievements of his administration rather than political maneuvering. Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily earlier this month, he said: “The 2027 election will not be difficult for Tinubu if he can show the records of his performance. Nobody hates him personally. Nobody wants to pick him out because they just don’t like him. It is about performance. Present your scorecards.”
Momodu, publisher of Ovation International and a former presidential candidate under the Peoples Democratic Party before his more recent alignment with the ADC, has positioned himself as one of the most consistent voices holding Tinubu to the democratic standards of their shared NADECO-era activism. His interventions have often carried a dual message: acknowledging personal respect and historical camaraderie with the president, while cautioning that the machinery of state including mass defections to the ruling APC, emergency rule powers, and dismissive remarks toward government critics risks eroding the very democracy both men once fought to restore.
