Veteran Nigerian journalist and public affairs commentator, Dele Momodu, has formally joined the African Democratic Congress, a Nigerian opposition political party positioning itself as a coalition alternative ahead of future elections, several months after resigning from the Peoples Democratic Party.
Momodu, who is also the founder and publisher of Ovation International Magazine and a former presidential aspirant in Nigeria, publicly declared his membership of the African Democratic Congress during a political gathering held on Thursday in Benin City, the capital of Edo State in southern Nigeria.
While addressing party members and supporters, Momodu moved quickly to dispel speculation about his personal political ambitions within the state and at the national level. He made it clear that he is not seeking to contest for either a senatorial seat or the governorship of Edo State.
“People have asked me, ‘What do you want? Do you want to be governor or senator?’ No,” he said. “I just want to promote the best interests of our people.”
Okay News reports that the media entrepreneur described his decision to join the African Democratic Congress as part of a broader political mission aimed at strengthening democratic competition in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and largest economy.
“It is hard to imagine the pride I feel at this moment as I undertake my self-led event in DC to pick up the membership card of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, the new opposition coalition in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation. This is only the first and most important leg of this political journey,” Momodu stated.
Expanding on his political motivation, Momodu said his involvement in partisan politics is driven by the need to prevent Nigeria from sliding into a one-party system, which he warned could weaken democratic accountability.
“My mission in politics is to join hands of fellowship with citizens of like minds to rescue, recover, and reset Nigeria. Nigeria must be rescued from a one-party state and one parliament,” he said.
The journalist also reflected on his personal reconnection with Edo State, describing how his journey back to his ancestral roots shaped his renewed political engagement within the state.
“It took me a long time, over 30 years, before I could discover my ancestral home,” Momodu said. “Let me thank one of my fathers who is present here today, Senator Isa Raymond. From the very first day he met me, he adopted me as a child. When I came home for the first time, he coordinated everything.”
Momodu further explained that despite spending decades building his career and financial stability abroad, particularly in the United States of America, he has now chosen to reintegrate fully into Edo State’s political process.
“It took me over 50 years — you will not believe it — of excruciating hard work and meticulous planning to plant roots for my modest income in the United States. Today, nobody can say I have no roots in the United States. But today, I am standing before you as I firmly reintegrate myself into the political process of my state,” he said.
Momodu’s move to the African Democratic Congress follows his resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party in July 2025, a decision he publicly justified in a letter addressed to the party leadership at Ward Four in Ihievbe, Owan East Local Government Area of Edo State.
In the letter, he accused unnamed internal and external actors of undermining democratic values within the party.
“My reason is simple and straightforward. Our party has been unarguably hijacked by antidemocratic forces, from within and outside, in broad daylight,” the letter read.
He added, “It is, therefore, honourable to abandon the carcass of the party to them while the majority of us earnestly sign up with the new coalition party known as the African Democratic Congress.”
