Otedola strikes gold; Regina Daniels’ father makes peace with billionaire son-in-law, Maheeda turns born again. See other gist that we tracked…

OTEDOLA

Barely a year after announcing that he was quitting the oil sector after he turned around the fortunes of moribund African Petroleum, AP, which he rechristened Forte Oil, business mogul, Femi Otedola, is proving his critics wrong in his new line of business.

Celebrity Gist can confirm that the son of a former Lagos State governor, late Sir Michael Otedola, has struck gold in the power sector as his N64.3bn investment in Geregu Power Plant, is already giving his close competitors sleepless nights.

Further reports revealed that the company is not only yielding positive returns, but has also helped to provide a healthy competition among other players in the sector, thus forcing business analysts who questioned his decision to quit the money spinning oil industry to eat their words.

OLU JACOBS

Veteran Nollywood actor, Olu Jacobs, turned 78 on Saturday, July 11, 2020, to the delight of his family; friends, close associates and scores of his colleagues in the movie industry.

Excited by the development which is coming barely one month after he was rumoured dead on social media, his wife, Joke Silva, took to her Instagram page to give gratitude to God for his life.

She uploaded a slideshow which contained pictures of Jacobs over the years, including at the wedding of one of their children. She captioned the post, “Hey birthday boy. To God the Father be all the glory.”

She was later joined by several other celebrities especially thespians including Richard Mofe Dakore Egbuson and Omotola Jalada-Ekeinde, who took out time to celebrate Olu Jacobs on social media.

REGINA DANIELS & FATHER

Mr Jude Ojegwu, the father of Nollywood actress, Regina Daniels has finally decided to make peace with his billionaire son-in-law, Ned Nwoko.

We gather that Mr Ojegwu who was vehemently against her union with the 59-year-old billionaire last year citing the age difference between his daughter and Mr. Nwoko, decided to make peace during the christening of his grandson, Munir Neji Nwoko, on Friday, July 10.

According to Mr. Ojegwu, the birth of his grandson made him reconcile with Mr Nwoko, for the sake of peace, joy, and happiness of his daughter and her child moving forward.

He said; “The birth of this child has answered the question (about the controversy). Everybody craves for peace, joy, and happiness. I have accepted everything. I feel very happy having a grandchild and that is why I am here. I traveled all the way from Lagos to this place just to celebrate with the family. I told him (Nwoko) and the mother to call him Ifechukwude which means what God has written.”

 

MAHEEDA

Caroline Sam, popularly known as Maheeda who became popular as a nudist singer, surprised many when she confirmed that she had changed her ways after giving her life to Christ.

According to Maheeda who once described herself as ‘Naija bad girl’, she was convinced to dedicate her life to Christ after listening to a preacher online and also stated further that most entertainers have sold their souls to the devil just to become popular.

She said, “I listened to a preacher online and it ministered to my soul. It made me believe that I have to present my body to the Holy Spirit to use and I have a purpose in life to fulfil. I know people are waiting for God to change me.

Maheeda also called on her colleagues to change their ways;  “God still loves them and He is waiting for them with open hands. It is better late than never. In this evil world of spiritual powers everywhere, they (entertainers) are sacrificing their souls to the devil and it’s easy for him to deal with them as he wants because they don’t have the protection of the Holy Spirit.”

READ ALSO: Genevieve, Regina, Obey hug the headlines. See other gists that kept the mills spinning

NOLLYWOOD

Due to the persisting COVID-19 pandemic, the organisers of Nollywood Film Festival, Germany (NFFG) and Nollywood Golden Awards, (NEGA), Ehizoya Golden Entertainment, have announced the cancellation of the 2020 edition of the awards.

This was revealed in a statement signed by the founder of NFFG/NEGA, Cultural Ambassador Isaac Izoya, who said that event was called off due to the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has crippled the entertainment industry.

“Due to the ongoing devastating effects of the unprecedented COVID-19, which has hit hard the entertainment industry among which are events centre, cinemas, airports and visa processing for our potential guests, we have no alternative option than to regrettably cancel the well-advertised Nollywood events scheduled for September 4th – 5th, 2020.”

“We sincerely apologise for any inconveniences this may have caused you while looking forward to a COVID-19 FREE 2021 Nollywood Film Festival Germany and Nollywood Europe Golden Awards,” Izoya said.

 

PRAIZ

Praise Ugbede Adejo, aka Praiz has announced that he has parted ways with X3M Music, 10 years after delivering quality music, which has offered him relative popularity and a couple of awards for his efforts.

The singer who made the announcement on Twitter after releasing his anticipated EP, ‘To The Moon’, went down memory lane, recalling how he returned to Lagos about a year after emerging second runner-up in the Project Fame West Africa (PFWA) competition.

The talented singer who noted that CEO of X3M Music, Steve Babaeko got him his first commercial recalls; “I kept pushing tho it was so hard, all I had was my laptop that had seen it all, headphones and my midi controller Musical keyboard to make beats. I couldn’t record and I had no money to pay for sessions.”

DJ CUPPY

27-year-old disc jockey and artiste, DJ Cuppy (who has somewhat failed to convince many about her talent) has entered into a deal with UK-based Music Company, Platoon, for the release of her debut Extended Play collection titled, ‘Original Copy’.

Celebrity Gist can confirm that DJ Cuppy is expected to use the EP to break down all preconceived notions and prove to critics that she is passionate about her art and raising the standard.

She will now join ranks with the likes of British singer, Jorja Smith, Sam Smith and Mr Eazi on the Platoon stable which has also developed major artistes like Billie Eilish and Stefflon Don who later left the platform to sign hefty global deals with Universal Music Group.

Acknowledging the deal, the company via its official twitter handle @WeArePlatoon posted: “Welcome @cuppymusic to the Platoon fam. So glad to announce you have signed with us! We can’t wait for this album to drop & watch you shinee! #originalcopy.”

JADA PINKETT & WILL SMITH

Hollywood actress, Jada Pinkett-Smith shocked many when she confirmed on her Facebook show that she indeed had a relationship with singer August Alsina while still married to her husband, Will Smith.

Jada who revealed this while she sat down with her husband for an intimate conversation on her Facebook show, Red Table Talk, revealed she developed a friendship with August around four years ago.

According to the mother of two, she got involved in a relationship with August Alsina around the same time, her marriage to Will Smith was going through a ‘difficult time’ and they had ‘basically broken up’.

However, Will made light of the fact that he’s being the dutiful husband and standing by his wife after her ‘transgressions’ amid intense media scrutiny, Jada admitted that she doesn’t see her relationship with August ‘as a transgression at all’.

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