Facts from US based Empowered Newswire Management has revealed that the founder of Ovation Magazine, Mr. Dele Momodu lied in his Op-Ed titled, ‘An Open Letter To Pastor Laolu Akande’.
The newswire formed by Mr. Akande in 2004 said it was aware of what transpired between Mr. Momodu and Mr. Akande in 2010, stressing that, the Ovation Magazine founder deliberately misrepresented facts from their encounter.
“In paragraph two of his Op-Ed, Mr. Momodu said he called Mr. Akande, it was not Mr Akande that called him,” the newswire said.
“Mr. Momodu initiated whatever happened, he called because he needed help after Temisan Aduayi, his US reporter left Ovation to start his own magazine called Trendy Africa. At this point, Mr. Momodu was afraid that he would lose all his US market to Mr. Aduayi and so therefore sought a bigger name in the US.
“He called Mr. Akande that he was attending the Nigerian Reunion Meet in Maryland but Mr. Akande told him he could not leave New York for Maryland, so he asked that they met in New Jersey which is closer to New York.
“At the time, he desperately needed Mr. Akande’s name and reputation in the US and the former Guardian North America Bureau chief obliged him.
“As a matter of fact after Mr. Akande agreed to help him stabilise his US work, he played it big in the next edition of the Magazine celebrating Mr. Akande to high heavens because he and the paper truly needed that kind of person at that time.
“Mr. Akande never asked for a job with Ovation. That is not his kind of publication anyway.
The newswire also stated that because Mr. Akande never saw his time at Ovation Magazine as a job, he never included it in his Résumé. “Mr. Akande never put Ovation Magazine in his CV because he saw it as a favour to Mr. Momodu. He never considered it a job opportunity.”
The newswire then said Mr. Momodu told outright lies when he said Mr. Akande expressed difficulties. “Mr. Akande had taught in two US colleges for 15 straight years before his current job. At the time, he was the only and still the only Nigerian journalist to ever interview a US President in the White House.
“He worked with Philadelphia Inquirer, the 7th largest US newspaper, then with Newsday of New York.
“Then with the UN as Communication Consultant, then started his own news wire called Empowered Newswire and then became a Pastor in high brow Long Island New York, then became Executive Director of Christian Association of Nigerian Americans CANAN,” how could he have expressed difficulties?, the newswire quizzed. “The truth is Ovation Magazine was struggling for relevance after the US Bureau chief acrimoniously left. Mr. Momodu sought a bigger name to fill the post in the interim and that’s why he reached out to Mr. Akande,” Empowered Newswire Management said.
