The Nation Newspaper

Category: Celebrity

  • Friends abandon Jide Omokore

    Friends abandon Jide Omokore

    Some lessons can only be learnt the hard way. When ill-fortune storms a man’s castle of comfort and starts pulling it down brick by brick, he feels desolate, forsaken by the prestige and honour that once bedecked his brows. He finds out then that even the friends he has may not endure, for, as the monk in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales declares, if the good times bring you friends, the bad times often turns them into enemies.

    This, in a nutshell, captures the predicament of the chairman of Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Limited, Jide Omokore. Since the beginning of his travails with the dreaded Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, he has been literally abandoned by people who flocked around him when the going was good.

    The top associate of former President Goodluck Jonathan has not been finding life rosy since the EFCC invited him in connection with a series of alleged fraudulent multi-billion dollar petrol import and crude export deals. Omokore had no doubt thought that his friends would be his source of strength at the beginning of his travails. It is therefore easy to imagine his shock when many of the so-called friends not only shunned him but publicly celebrated his suffering, leaving the bewildered Kogi-born oil magnate to lick his wounds in shocked silence.

    Meanwhile, the case against him is in court since the EFCC charged him and five others in July. Recent indications are that no respite is in the offing for Omokore as eight of his accounts were recently traced and frozen by the anti-graft agency.

  • Omorede Osifo in political wilderness

    Omorede Osifo in political wilderness

    While the Edo State governorship elections beckoned and the big players jostled to make contributions to ensure that their parties carried the day, one name that was conspicuously missing was that of Omorede Osifo. The celebrity woman’s political clout has been waning since she was booted out of office by the state’s governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, about two years ago.

    It will be recalled that Lady Omorede wielded considerable political influence while she held sway as the Edo State Commissioner for Youths, Sports and Social Mobilisation, until she was kicked out by the governor who was angered by the failure of the floodlights at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium during a key function.

    Since the death knell sounded on her political rapport with the former president of the NLC, Lady Omorede has cut down on her participation in top level politics in the state.

    Although she remains a staunch member of the APC, she is no longer the influential force she used to be.

    These days, the beautiful woman is focusing more on her personal life.

  • Dewunmi Ogunsanya not in a hurry

    Dewunmi Ogunsanya not in a hurry

    It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of good fortune must be in want of a wife,” reads the first sentence of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The bevy of girls currently jostling for the attention of MultiChoice Chairman Dewunmi Ogunsanya certainly seem to be in agreement with the way they have been flocking around the amiable lawyer, each one hoping to be the lucky beneficiary of his love. The attention has got to a stage where the normally outgoing DSTV top shot is beginning to hold back from social gatherings in order to avoid the ceaseless entreaties from the determined daughters of Eve.

    Unlike Mr Darcy in Austen’s masterpiece, who dismissed the attention of ladies out of pride, the head honcho of Ogunsanya and Ogunsanya law chambers has a much deeper reason for his reticence in fanning the flames of fresh love. Since he lost his wife Moji to cancer, he has been unable to emerge fully from the depths of desolation. She was the foundation of his life and success. Little wonder he is finding it hard not to fall apart after her sad departure.

    Although time, as they say, heals all wounds, it has not mended Dewunmi’s heartache sufficiently to make him consider remarriage for now.

    Even though he is said to be very close to a young, beautiful lady who has also been kind to him in many ways; for now, he is content with focusing on his business and playing his role as a father to the children Moji had for him.

  • Obi Ohakim expects new baby

    Obi Ohakim expects new baby

    Since handsome Obinna Ohakim got married to his pretty lawyer wife, Obiageli Anunobi, in late 2013, good tidings have become frequent visitors to the couple’s home. Just a year after they consummated their union, the happy couple welcomed a baby boy into their home. And while other high profile marriages were hitting the rocks left and right, the Ohakims quietly continued on their path of marital bliss.

    Their approach is certainly paying dividends as the couple recently took to popular social media site, Instagram, to show off Obiageli’s baby bump alongside cute pictures of the family.

    Obi and Oby — as they are fondly called — expect the baby to land anytime soon. The couple, who first met six years ago, are no doubt eagerly awaiting the baby’s arrival.

  • Jennifer Obayuwana still waiting for Mr Right

    Jennifer Obayuwana still waiting for Mr Right

    The continued wait of celebrity beauty, Jennifer Obayuwana, for the right man to walk down the aisle with is turning into the proverbial waiting for Godot. Since the charming Executive Director of Polo Avenue got herself engaged to Peter Saleh, anticipation has been high among social events watchers that she would finally shrug off the cloak of spinsterhood which has stuck to her like a Siamese twin.

    But the engagement seems to have become like the numerous false dawns in Samuel Beckett’s classic play which yielded nothing but dashed hopes, as the pretty lady has reportedly called off the romantic alliance with handsome Saleh.

    It will be recalled that Jennifer and Peter got engaged at Eko Signature of Eko Hotels and Suites, on New Year eve in 2015. The friends and family members who had queried their relationship will no doubt feel vindicated as Daddy Girl — as Jennifer is fondly called — has moved on and immersed herself in her business.

  • Banke Balogun joins league of 40-yr-olds

    Banke Balogun joins league of 40-yr-olds

    Banke Balogun is radiating a lot of happiness these days. And society watchers are not surprised as things have been going smoothly for her of late. The radiant mother of four recently eased into her 40th birthday with the grace and elegance befitting someone of her status.

    Not one to shy away from public celebrations of achievements in grand venues, the fashion forward wife of First City Monument Bank’s Managing Director, Ladi Balogun, had birthday dinner at Dochester Hotel in London to celebrate the occasion. In attendance were family and friends who thronged the venue like a flock of sheep responding to the shepherd’s summons.

    Grapevine has it that Banke plans to throw a bigger party in Lagos to celebrate her new age. Perhaps unsatisfied with the relative exclusivity of the London event, she plans to hold the celebration in the full glare of the approving Lagos social scene.

    It will be recalled that the beautiful lady, whose husband is one of the sons of banking guru and Oloori Omooba of Ijebuland, Otunba Subomi Balogun, had her wedding over a decade ago amidst fanfare and glitterati. The upcoming celebration is set to match or surpass that August event.

  • Igbinedions set for double celebration

    Igbinedions set for double celebration

    WHEN good news come, they sometimes do so in droves. This is the case in the household of the Esama of Benin Kingdom, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion. So soon after the patriarch of the famous Igbinedion family celebrated his 82nd birthday, the family is getting ready to throw open the gates in a double celebration of the weddings of their two daughters, Orobosa and Ewemade.

    Beautiful Orobosa is the youngest daughter of Lady Cherry Igbinedion, wife of former Edo State governor, Lucky Igbinedion. Her beau-to-be is no less a person than Umar Mantu, son of former deputy Senate president, Ibrahim Mantu. Earlier in April, the soon-to-be couple held their introduction at the Signature house of the Esama, followed by a post-introduction ceremony which was marked by pomp and ceremony.

    Suave businessman and bureau de change operator, Umar, used to be a ladies’ man until charming Orobosa stole his attention permanently. The traditional wedding is slated for Saturday September 24, while Orobosa, who has been given the Islamic name Sa’adiyyah, will undergo the Islamic fathia rites on October 6. The grand finale will be the white wedding earmarked for October 28 in Cape Town, South Africa. The Igbinedions have already concluded plans to storm Mandela’s country with an entourage of powerful celebrities.

    Those with access to the family also disclosed that come November, the family will be giving out the hand of Ewemade in marriage to Ganiu Kuteyi, who hails from Ondo State, though details on the exact date are still sketchy. One thing is for sure, the upcoming celebrations in the Igbinedion household will be the talk of the social and celebrity gossip scenes for a long time.

  • Mayor Akinpelu hosts daughter’s wedding in the US

    Mayor Akinpelu hosts daughter’s wedding in the US

    LAST Saturday, wedding bells rang merrily in faraway Raleigh, North Carolina, USA where a galaxy of eminent personalities watched the publisher of Global Excellence magazine, Prince Isiaka Mayowa Akinpelu, and his wife, Olufunke, gave their daughter’s hand out in marriage.

    The distinguished guests who descended on the occasion like a swarm of bees included the founder and publisher of Ovation magazine, Chief Dele Momodu, who also doubled as the host of the after-wedding reception party.

    Attired in an ermine white bridal dress, beautiful Abosede, the first and only daughter of Prince Akinpelu, looked resplendent while her father, popularly called Lord Mayor by fans and associates, brimmed with joy as the rites to solidify his daughter’s union to handsome Adebosipo were concluded.

  • Olufunke Agagu parts with the past

    Olufunke Agagu parts with the past

    IT is when fortune flees and leaves one marooned in the slough of despair that one often learns the true value of the fleeting moments of joy that life throws one’s way. This is the case with Olufunke Agagu, widow of former Ondo State governor, Chief Olusegun Agagu. After her long and unwilling romance with misfortune, the former first lady of Ondo State is slowly learning to look once again on the bright sides of life.

    For a woman who has been battered by dire storms in the recent past, this is surely a welcome development. Funke had lost her husband, the multi-talented geologist, politician and former governor of Ondo State, after a brief illness in September 2013. But ill-luck was not done, as the aircraft conveying her husband’s remains to Akure crashed at shortly after take-off, killing several persons including the then Ondo State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Deji Falae.

    The clouds of tragedy however gave way to a silver lining with the news that her son, Feyi, and her son-in-law, who were both on the ill-fated plane, survived the crash, though both were left in critical conditions.

    The gist in town now is that Lady Olufunke is slowly recovering her radiant disposition, perhaps bolstered by her son’s return to full health. In gratitude, she has vowed to dedicate the remainder of her life to serving God.

  • Yinka Fasuyi, wife bag chieftaincy titles

    Yinka Fasuyi, wife bag chieftaincy titles

    YINKA Fasuyi and his wife are living examples of children of the soil doing great deeds to put their communities on the map. No doubt the time and effort they have invested in raising the profile of Ijeshaland has earned them loads of favour from the grateful sons and daughters of the area. And now in a bid to give honour to whom honour is due, the Owa Obokun of Ijeshaland is set to install Yinka Fasuyi and his wife as the Asiwaju and Yeye Asiwaju of Ijeshaland. It is one of the biggest titles available to sons and daughters of the soil and is usually given in recognition of efforts towards moving the kingdom forward.

    In anticipation of the great day in October 2016, the Fasuyis have already begun extending invitations to esteemed family members, friends and well-wishers. Evergreen musician, King Sunny Ade, is scheduled to thrill guests to good music. The occasion is sure to overflow with people eager to celebrate the great day with the Fasuyis.