Dele Momodu, former PDP presidential aspirant in the 2023 elections, has shared why he’s unlikely to make another bid for the Nigerian presidency. Reflecting on his last campaign, Momodu revealed that he spent almost 50 million Naira on a nomination form, only to find it a “waste.”

Speaking candidly on The KK Show – Key to Keys podcast, Momodu explained, “I’ve come to realize that there are powers you could call principalities that control Nigeria. Unless a major political party adopts me as their candidate—where a consensus says, ‘Dele Momodu is the one to lead Nigeria’—then I might consider it.”

Momodu said the high financial stakes in Nigerian politics make it impossible to compete without deep pockets. “If I have to pick up my own money to buy a 100 million Naira presidential nomination form again… The last time, I spent 50 million. That could have bought me a property, and it was a waste,” he explained. “I didn’t get a single vote because everything was monetized. Some candidates were paying $30,000 per delegate, and with 774 delegates, how do you compete with that?”

Momodu also highlighted the vast sums of untraceable cash in the hands of certain politicians, especially those benefiting from oil wealth. “There’s no country in the world where people control raw cash like in Nigeria. Their money isn’t in banks, so you can’t trace it. If someone needed $500 million to run, they’d find it,” he said, pointing to the systemic corruption he sees as a major obstacle for people like him.

With these challenges and his own age weighing on him, Momodu shared that he’s almost given up on his presidential ambition. “I’ll be 65 on my next birthday. I may look and feel young, but the truth is, I’m an old man. My father didn’t make it to 61, and that reminder makes me think: we’re all living on borrowed time. Why kill ourselves over politics?” he concluded, leaving the door only slightly open should the people rally behind him for change.