The Nation Newspaper

Category: Celebrity

  • Red dress saga: Mercy Aigbe finally speaks

    Red dress saga: Mercy Aigbe finally speaks

    Following the controversies on the red dress worn on her 40th birthday, Nollywood actress and mother of two, Mercy Aigbe has finally spoken out.

    Taking to her Instagram, Mercy cleared the air on the ongoing ‘red dress saga’ involving herself, a designer @Rikaotobyme and a bride @rettypetty.

    According to her, she never had any personal meeting with the designer as she transacted through a stylist who arranged different dresses for the shoot.

    Read Also: Owner of Mercy Aigbe’s birthday dress angry, as designer claims dispatch error

    ‘I have followed events as they unfold following a particular dress I wore for a photoshoot. First, I must say that I sincerely sympathise with the bride as this situation is painful, unfortunate and regrettably avoidable. I hired and paid Seun @styledbyseun for the photoshoot as a stylist and got four dresses for the shoot. Seun and I were unaware that one of the dresses was meant for someone else.’

    Mercy who described the designer as unprofessional, sympathized with the bride. She added that her lawyer is on the case. She said: ‘I have instructed my lawyer to look into this and see how best to approach this from a legal point of view without festering an already open wound’

    Read: Mercy Aigbe ’s birthday dress saga gets messier

  • Ndoma-Egba mourns mum

    Ndoma-Egba mourns mum

    Sometimes, sad news lurks in the corner, waiting to make its appearance at the point the drum of celebration is about to beat loudest. Elder Adeline Ndoma-Egba, the mother of easy-going board chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, was only a few days away from celebrating her 92nd birthday when death came knocking on her door.

    Elder Adeline gave up the ghost on December 30 last year after a lifetime of service to humanity; a life in which she raised respectable children who have gone on to become beacons of hope in the society. The news of her demise no doubt dampened spirits in the Ndoma-Egba family during the Yuletide.

    Funeral arrangements remain yet under wraps as the family tries to come to terms with their loss. One thing that is certain, however, is that the well-heeled NDDC chairman will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that his mother gets a befitting burial.

  • Hosa Okunbor hits 60

    Hosa Okunbor hits 60

    Not many can lay claim to the rare distinction of rising to the top of two careers in a lifetime. In this, as in many other things, Captain Hosa Okunbor stands heads and shoulders above most of his peers. As an aviator of repute, he conquered the air with daring feats in the service of Nigerian airspace. As a businessman, he has also conquered the sea with his fleet of fast-moving vessels.

    As he prepares to hit the significant age of 60, he has turned his attention to the last terrain of conquest: land. With badges of honour already acquired from his time in the aviation sector from where he retired as a pilot at 30, and with his numerous businesses raking in millions of naira daily, the legacy of Idahosa Wells Okunbor is almost complete.

    The Edo-State-born dude and husband of beautiful Nosa Okunbor is wasting no time to cement his place in history as he recently floated the massive Wells Sam Carlos Farm in Edo State. The farm established on 1,000 hectares of land at a whooping cost of N150 billion is projected to generate no fewer than 100,000 jobs. This is besides a 20-hectare greenhouse also in Edo.

    Given the foregoing, it is no wonder that Captain Hosa enjoys cult hero status in his home state. His upcoming 60th birthday celebration will no doubt be a timely opportunity for the masses and nobility alike to show their appreciation of the upstanding man of means.

  • Fola Ogunlesi finds love again

    Fola Ogunlesi finds love again

    Lagos big boy and eldest of the famous Ogunlesi brothers, Fola Ogunlesi, has rediscovered his groove after two failed marriages. Love in the form of beautiful mother of two, Ireti, has come flooding back into his life.

    Fola, a brother to Lanre and Kayode, and wealthy owner of popular events centre, Fantasyland, located in Ikoyi, Lagos, had earlier been in a bed of bliss with his first wife, Idowu, who ran a fabric business at Alade Market in Ikeja, but the union hit the rocks when one of Idowu’s friends, Omolewa, took her place in Fola’s home and heart.

    For a while, Omolewa and Fola cruised around. Things however fell apart following ‘irreconcilable differences’ between the pair, culminating in a very acrimonious divorce.

    But now, Fola has consigned all that to the dung hill of history since Ireti appeared on the scene to fill the void in his love life. The pair have become virtually inseparable at public functions. Ireti has already become the Madam in Fola’s opulent Ikeja GRA mansion while he is spoiling her silly with things money can buy.

  • Rotimi Akeredolu’s son set to wed

    Rotimi Akeredolu’s son set to wed

    Ondo State governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, must be a very happy man at the moment. Not only did the just concluded year end on an excellent note for him with his victory at the polls and remarkable time at the helm of affairs in the Sunshine State, the new year has begun on a similarly positive note as his first son gets ready to tie the nuptial knot at a high-octane event in Lagos.

    Come January 6, Landmark Events Centre, Oniru, Lagos, will become the temporary jaunt of men and women in the corridors of power as well as gentlemen and ladies of high net worth as Babajide Ayotola Akeredolu says ‘I do’ to his long-time heartthrob, Mary Oghenetega.

    The two lovebirds met and hit it off a long time back, but one thing or the other always came up to scupper their plans for marital union; so much so that it was beginning to look not just like marriage delayed but marriage denied.

    But all is now set for their “happily ever after” story in a few days’ time.

  • Mo Abudu begins New Year on high note

    Mo Abudu begins New Year on high note

    The year 2017 ended on a glorious note for Mo Abudu, the prominent media mogul and corporate amazon, just as 2018 began on an even more glorious note for her. The CEO of EbonyLife TV was honoured at the Ali Baba’s January 1 Concert held at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    Abudu was honoured as the first woman in Africa to launch a Pan Africa TV channel. The award was presented to her by Dame Abimbola Fashola, wife of former Lagos State governor, and Dame Abimbola Fashola, top bank executive and Ali Baba’s wife.

    Abudu looked beautiful in a piece from Lanre DaSilva Ajayi’s SS18 The Grand Royal Collection. She was accompanied to the event by the trio of Ruth Osime, Pat Faniran and Marian Omatsone.

    It will be recalled that on Thursday, December 7, 2017, the Governing Council of the Institute of Directors Nigeria (IoDN), awarded Abudu the fellowship of the Institute of Directors as well as the 2017 IoD Entrepreneurial Award.

  • Tina Ogundoyin adapts

    Even the very best in any age is at the mercy of time. After breaking numerous records and entertaining fans for a decade or more, the most talented athlete loses hold of his soul and limb, leaving the terrain for up and coming ones. It was the fate that befell Michael Phelps, Tiger Woods and Usain Bolt and has also befallen Tina Ogundoyin.

    If the celebrity scene was an athletics competition, Tina was the world record holder who left her challengers biting the dust. She bestrode the Ibadan social scene like a perennial Olympic gold medallist as she waltzed from one high octane shindig in the ancient city to another, trailed by her coterie of equally flamboyant friends. Always colourfully and expensively dressed, she was the envy of many who could only dream of her vaunted status as the Queen of Sheba.

    But as the historical queen lost her lustre, so did Tina. Following a series of emotional issues with one-time beau Sogo Agboola, Tina’s sparkle began to wane, leading to her laying down her crown for new contenders on the scene to squabble over.

    These days, she is a picture of indifference to the goings-on on the social scene. She meticulously chooses the few occasions she now graces with her presence.

  • Ibidun Ighodalo celebrates babies at Yuletide

    Ibidun Ighodalo celebrates babies at Yuletide

    Ibidun Ighodalo, wife of the Senior Pastor of Trinity House Church, Ituah Ighodalo, has continued to beam rays of hope into the lives of people who least expect it. The former Miss Lux Nigeria was at it again during the just concluded Yuletide period as her foundation organised a very successful Baby’s Day for the benefit of mothers and their children.

    Having recently welcomed a new addition into her home in the person of cute little Keke, the brains behind upscale events planning outfit, Elizabeth R, no doubt has good knowledge of the stress mothers pass through in raising their children. Thus, she took the initiative to lessen their burden through the one-day festive event which featured free shopping, distribution of toys and other baby things, and free medical check-ups, among other goodies.

    The more than 500 women and children at the event had a jolly good time with the event hosted by her Ibidun Ighodalo Foundation.

  • Oba Adekeye ‎high-octane birthday

    For Abepa of Jogaland, Oba Adeyemi Adekeye, the third week of January is significant in his journey as an individual and as a monarch. The anniversary of his birth and that  of his coronation both fell on the third week and are annual reminders for him to be true to himself and his people.

    This time, the celebrations will be taken a notch higher as he reaches the milestone age of 60 years and 15 years on the throne of his forebears. The sleepy little town of Joga Orile in Yewa North Local Government Area, Ogun State, will be wide awake throughout the week-long festivities in honour of their monarch.

    The crème de la crème of high society will be on hand to witness the celebrations, beginning with his birthday on Wednesday, January 17. A church service at St. Peters Anglican Church will follow before a high-octane reception at his Olumilade country home, which will feature Fuji music maestro, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal.

    The rest of the week will feature a series of activities lined up to commemorate a decade and a half of Oba Adekeye’s peaceful yet eventful reign as the king of Jogaland.

  • Maryam Abacha regains groove

    Maryam Abacha regains groove

    Time often plays a fast one on the heroines of every age. In the blink of an eye, an icon of high society is swept aside only for her to make few and far between cameos at high octane events.

    This appears to have been the fate of former First Lady, Maryam Abacha.

    In her heyday, she was everywhere launching programmes and foundations, playing the host at exquisite events or acting as an esteemed guest of honour at functions. In those days, she could shape or change policies with mere verbal pronouncements.

    All that had changed with the death of her husband and former head of state, Gen. Sani Abacha, who gave up the ghost in mysterious circumstances while he held sway as the nation’s military dictator. His death forced Maryam to lie low as she was shunned by those who once queued up for the crumbs that fell from her table.

    The former first lady has however regained some of her former glories in recent times. She has been spotted at a few high profile shindigs exuding the poise and confidence of a matriarch of high society. One of them was the recent birthday party of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, where she shone brightly in the midst of some of her children who accompanied her to the occasion.