Breaking News : 2face Idibia’s Father is dead

Pop icon 2face Idibia's father has passed on in an Abuja hospital.
No official statement yet, but the musician's associates confirm to Nigerian Entertainment Today he
gave up the ghost today. He had been hospitalised for days.
2face is currently in Abuja where he has been all week.

[VIDEO]: Joe EL ft. TuFace Idibia – Hold On |@joeelkennis

Joe EL’s profile has been rising steadily since the release of “You are in love” which is arguably the Best RnB song of 2014 in Nigeria, he has gone ahead to release fade away, oya now, and now Hold on, with 4 brand new videos to show for them.

“Governor Godswill Akpabio is not a Reckless Spender” His Chief Press Secretary gives 6 Reasons Why:

Latest Gist

“Governor Godswill Akpabio is not a Reckless Spender” His Chief Press Secretary gives 6 Reasons Why:

The past few weeks have not been the very best for the Governor of Akwa-Ibom state Godswill Akpabio. There have been several allegations of him misusing the government funds, originating from his donation of a Toyota SUV and plane tickets to Annie Idibia during her traditional wedding. Shortly after that, he offered N1 Million each to six state Chairmen of the Peoples’s Democratic Party (PDP) from the South-South geopolitical zone for lunch during one of their meetings. He was also caught on camera recently, making a self confession on how he rigged the senatorial primary elections in his state.  In a bid to save his reputation, his press secretary, Anietie Ukpe, has released a statement highlighting six reasons why Governor Akpabio is not a reckless money spender.  Please read them and tell us what you think

1. All the money so far spent was budgeted and did not in any way negatively impact on the fortunes of Akwa Ibom and the people of the state.

2. The governor promised and actually donated only one Toyota Prado SUV to Tuface Idibia and his wife, Annie Macaulay, not two such vehicles, as was wrongly reported. When the most respected Highlife living legend, Dr. Victor Abimbola Olaiya, was honoured with the latest model of Toyota Avensis saloon car by Governor Fayemi of Ekiti State to mark his 80th birthday, did anybody complain?

3. The Governor promised to give twenty relatives of the bride, Annie Macaulay, who is an Akwa Ibom daughter, return tickets to Dubai to attend the wedding. The entire cost of these return tickets came down to just N3 million. Was that enough for such pent up fury?

4. On the donation of N6 million to the state chapter chairmen of the Peoples Democratic Party at Port Harcourt, in the 2013 budget, there is a provision for Hospitality, Grants and Donations by the Governor under Section 467/169. This provision is not peculiar to Akwa Ibom State; it is an intrinsic part of all government budgets in the world. How leaders decide on donations is not subject to legislative scrutiny or control, just as the legislature does not control how the provision for the security vote is spent.

5. Concerning the donation of N230 million (N10 million per state) by twenty-three PDP states for developmental projects in Mr President’s immediate community, the projects involved included cancer diagnostic centre, nursery school, primary school, secondary school, skill acquisition centre, hostel for NYSC youths posted to Bayelsa, and a deanery for prayers. All those who are upset about this donation have the option to channel their own donations towards the building of shrines, or even to Satan.

6. There are also issues with the Governor saying that he “once gave a cash gift of N10m to the national Under-17 football team, the Golden Eaglets, for beating Mali in a first leg African Under-17 Championship qualifier in Calabar last November.” Not true! Governor Akpabio met the kids a few weeks earlier at Abuja Airport and on interaction learnt of their financial handicap in prosecuting major competitions outside Nigeria. He pledged N10 million support to the team and redeemed same at Calabar after the team’s match with Mali.

Signed, Chief Press Secretary/Senior Special Assistant to Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Anietie Ukpe.

Feel Super Free To Share !

Nigerian Senate Presidential Gift, True or Hoax? Please help tell what is wrong with the images.

Guests spotted this brand new Chevy Corvette with the message “Wedding Gift from Senator David Mark to Tuface & Annie” at the couple’s wedding in Dubai yesterday.

2Face is from Benue State, the same state as Senate President David Mark who is the Senator for the Benue South constituency.

The retails from $47,600 in the United States which is approximately N 7,425,600.

Read all about the Corvette.

At the traditional wedding of Nigerian music star 2Face Idibia and his wife Annie Idibia last Friday, the Akwa-Ibom state governor Godswill Akpabio announced that he was going to present the bride with a Toyota Prado SUV (WHICH ITS RANGE IS FROM $82,000 - $107,000 , you can check for yourself on : TRADEME ). He also promised to sponsor 20 of Annie’s relatives to Dubai for the couple’s white wedding and He delivered that promise, has he delivered the best Leadership lesson when he should be pushing the senates decision to rescind the motion to pay unemployed graduates N 20,000.

The Wedding Gift

A real life photo of some part of Nigeria

 “Following spurious and false speculations in the social media concerning the wedding gift by Governor Godswill Akpabio to Mrs. Annie Innocent Idibia, née Macaulay, I wish to state as follows:

That the State Governor as a token of support for the couple promised to fund the traveling expenses (economy return tickets) for only 20 relatives of Mrs. Annie Idibia Macaulay to Dubai, where the couple have chosen to wed.

That looking carefully at the surrounding events in perspective, Mrs. Annie Idibia, nee Macaulay is a daughter of Akwa Ibom State and the gift of a Prado SUV from her governor is only a gesture of love and goodwill. Her resolve to stand by her husband on his journey right from his days of youthful beginnings to stardom even in the face of challenges was commendable and a true attribute of the Akwa Ibom women.

That it is however unbecoming that mischief makers and enemies of progress have decided to inflame the social media with incongruous reports that the State Government is sponsoring an entourage of party supporters to the wedding in Dubai, when in fact the Government is only sponsoring the travel expenses of twenty of her family members at an estimated cost of roughly Three Million Naira (N3,000,000.00) only.

I wish to therefore urge members of the public to discountenance the misrepresentations made out of a well intentioned act of the governor.”

Although this announcement caused an outrage as people criticized the governor for the expensive gift, he has kept true to his word. Less than one week after the traditional wedding, the state government has presented Annie with the car and released a picture showing the state’s Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umanah presenting the gift to Annie and 2Face Idibia in Lagos.

Annie Idibia Recieving Her wedding gift

This Is what present day Ajegunle
looks like.

According to CKN Nigeria, Special Adviser – Media & Publicity to the President of the Senate David Mark, Kola Ologbondiyan allegedly claims the gift is not from Senator Mark .

Senator Mark did not visit Dubai for Tuface wedding rather he attended the 128th Inter parliamentary Union (IPU) conference currently holding in Quito, Ecuador. He was also not represented at Mr. Idibia’s wedding. It is also instructive to state that the President of the Senate, Senator Mark, did not make a car donation of any kind to Tuface before departing Nigeria for Ecuador neither did he purchase nor send any car to Dubai as a wedding gift for the musician or his wife. Who made the donation on behalf of the President of the Senate?

It is therefore a puerile lie for anybody to state that Senator Mark bought a Ferrari car worth N47m for Tuface. The allegation is wicked, ridiculous and irresponsible.

What should we believe, the photos or the politician’s PR?

Great Book Cover

 The state goverment has also released a statement defending the gifts and some misleading reports published in the media. The statement by Aniekan Umana released on Wednesday said that Akpabio approved only one car, and not two, for the couple. He also said he only promised to sponsor 20, and not 29, wedding guests to Dubai for the couple’s white wedding. WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO USING THE MONEY TO SET UP A TRUST FUND FOR THE POOR AND DOWN TRODDEN BY POVERTY IN THE COMMUNITY???

Congratulations go to 2face and Annie, but they both know what I mean, 2face even said it all on this track: Listen In Please 

 Photos – Annie Macaulay & 2Face Idibia’s Dubai Wedding – The Celebrity Wedding of the Year

Photos from the wedding in no particular order 

2face, Don Jazzy, Cobhams, Wizkid, Flavour Feature On Omawumi’s New Album

THE BACK OF THE "LASSO OF TRUTH"  ALBUM

As news broke out a few days back, Omawumi is getting ready to release her long awaited second album ‘Lasso of Truth‘. And she’s gathered some of the finest Nigerian artistes on the record.

2face, Wizkid, Flavour and Timaya all share guest appearances on the 12 track album which sees production from heavyweight producers Cobhams Asuquo, Don Jazzy, Young D, Sarz, Herman Acker, Sizzle Pro, and Soso Soberekon.

The album which has already hit the streets was released under the singer’s own Oma Records imprint and will be launched on April 7, 2013 at the Ball room of the Oriental Hotels, Lekki, Lagos.

2face’s Traditional Wedding Gulps N130m

Latest Gist

SPECIAL REPORT: 2face’s traditional wedding gulps N130m

The golden moment finally came for African Pop king 2face Idibia and Annie Macaulay on March 8, 2013 when the first phase of their well-publicized grand wedding kicked off in the small town of Eket Community, Akwa Ibom.

The couple knew the highly anticipated wedding was going to suck millions and seemed to be ready to live it up right from the start

Let’s start with the wedding invitation cards – the IVs were specially designed and printed in gold coloured sleeve. Event planners say the production would averagely cost N1m.

Then there was the cost of transportation. Close to a hundred people made their way to Eket Community from different parts of the country (although most came from Lagos and Abuja).  After wedding organizers failed to secure a deal with an airline company to fly in guests, everyone was billed standard rates – that price hangs around N4m (covering cost of air and land travels. The couple did not foot the entire bill for this as most guests financed their own trips)

Hotel accommodation and feeding at the Villa Marina and other guest houses also gulped a lot of money. Multiple hotels were used to accommodate the bride’s and groom’s friends for several nights (at least four days for close family and friends, and one night for those who came in the night before). We’ve been told about N8m went into this.

The Pre-nuptials party (or 2face’s Bachelor’s Eve party) was held at the De Javu night club on the night before the wedding. All sorts of drinks were brought out for the party – ranging from non-alcoholic, alcoholic spirits, wine and more. Those who attended say the gig which was sponsored by the state governor Godswill Akpabio could not have cost anything less than N2m. And that, we’re told, is a conservative estimate.

Getting to the wedding proper…

The wedding ceremony was organized by two different event planners – I-ma Planners headed by Imabong Ukpong and Imaginationz Events. Both companies made sure they left no stone unturned in delivering a successful traditional event beffiting of the couple’s superstar status.

The couple’s wedding attire was another highlight of the day – 2face’s customized cap, George wrapper, long sleeve top and beads, a stylist says would fall between N300k and N400k. And that also goes for the best man’s attire plus the all the friends of the groom. Annie’s attire including jewellery ‘would  cost nearly two times as much as her groom’s one source told us. Other family members, friends and guests also donned purpose-made traditional attires. Those familiar with Eket fashion tell us the glamorous attires must have cost up to  N2m

Students of the Apostolic High School, where the wedding was held wouldn’t have recognized the school on March 8 as it had been totally transformed into something else – breaths were taken away with the red-themed colourful designs, decorated with bamboo and cane chairs. An event planner tells us all that would cost close to N10m to put together, including the cost for music and other side attractions (And were there many!)

Food and refreshment at the ceremony: Trust, there was a lot to eat, drink and make merry with, we are talking three course meals, ‘small chops’, all sort of drinks ranging from soda to spirits. The groom had to also provide ‘special money’ for the bride’s family to cook 20 different delicacies. Hennessy Nigeria also flew in staff and at least one  bar. It’s okay to put all these at N6m?

The bride price: Depending on the agreement reached by the families, it would vary from N50k – N500k – this, according to Eket indigenes who spoke with NET over the weekend.

Ceremonial gifts: This ranges from traditional attires for the parents, eldest son and daughter, two goats, tubers of yam, alcohol, rolls of cigarette, more crates of beer, bag of salt and monetary gifts to different  youths groups and women in the community. Total cost – N3m

The Godswill Akpabio connection: The Akwa Ibom State’s Governor presented the couple with wedding gifts – two Toyota Prado Jeeps (N14.5m each). There was also multiple cash gifts to the couple and their friends, following a lavish dinner at the governor’s residence. We reliably gathered the total cash expenditure from the governor is over   N50m.

The Governor has also promised to sponsor a 20 man delegation to represent the state at the March 22/23 Dubai white wedding, cost for flight tickets, feeding and accommodation could be  up to N10m or more.

As you can see, the Idibias have tremendous goodwill and the bulk of the money and support came from friends and family, even though they also went all out to make their day successful.

And as we’ve been assured by insiders who know, the upcoming Dubai white wedding will gulp even more. To hold aboard a Yacht which has already been booked, we’re told the couple plan to treat guests (many of who will fly in from Lagos) to the most sophisticated and classy music industry wedding ever on March 22 and 23…Who’s doing what? Find out  next week….

Traditional Marriage Items

1. Bride price varies between N50,000 to N500,000 depending on the agreement reached by the families.

2. Traditional attires for the parents (including singlets, underwears, shoes, headties, caps, staffs, etc).

3. Buy the same for eldest sister and eldest brother of the bride.

4. Attires for grandparents

5. One goat for the family.

6. If the girl is pregnant or has already given birth, the family will require what is called an ‘insult goat’.(Annie already has a baby for 2face and some speculate she may be pregnant with her second)

7. The mother will also be presented a goat, tubers of yam.

8. The father will require an agreed quantity of alcohol (gins, beers, palm wine, etc).

9. Youths in the village-N5,000, rolls of cigarettes, crates of beer, gins, palm wine.

10. Women in the village- N5,000, bag of salt, tubers of yam.

11. Young girls in the village- N5,000, crates of drinks.

12. Special money for food (Udia Ibene) – used for the cooking of various assorted local delicacies for the guests.

13. Money for traditional entertainment

Story Credits : Osagie Alonge

Finally! 2face Gets His African Queen – Photos and Moments From Their Traditional Marriage

2face Idibia today tied the village knot with his lady Annie Macaulay. The event had its fair share of Nigerian entertainment acts as a host of friends, family, fans and the curious were all in attendance at the Apostolic High School, Esit Urua Community, Eket, Akwa Ibom state.

P:ictures for your viewing pleasure

Obong awan (His African Queen)

2face ayaya kpa (looking good)

Ufan mi (friends for life)

Nwan ya Ebe (the couple)

A sak! (smiley time with Godswill Akpabio)

Essien! (the unique walkway)

Ndito Ikwo (Sound Sultan)

Ette! (Kate Henshaw, a guest and the dashing groom)

Mbakara eme di o. (Kate Henshaw delights)

Nyan mi! (Kate Henshaw and Cynthia Amadi)

Ufan Kukere (Iyanya and Friend)