Award-winning rapper, Ice prince, has dismissed media reports suggesting that he has turned down a lucrative endorsement deal with Globacom.

Online reports suggested over the weekend that the rapper, real name, Panshak Zamani, had snubbed a multi-million naira deal with the telecommunications giant.

“Chocolate City’s management have moved quickly to deny the reports saying there is no truth in the matter.”

“We were just as surprised as anybody when we read the news of Ice Prince “purportedly” turning down “the offer”, especially since it isnt true,” said Tobi Sanni-Daniel, Ice Prince’s business manager.

“Globacom is a multi-national company with an excellent track record of delivering quality. Any individual would be proud and honoured to be associated with them.

“However to say that we have turned down an endorsement deal is false and completely baseless.”

Ice Prince has recently been busy in the studio as he gears towards a highly anticipated album later in the year. He has released a remix to the hugely successful ‘Aboki’ as well as released a video for ‘Truth’ which has already gone viral.

President of Real Madrid, Florentino Perez, insisted at a press conference on Thursday, that there were no problems between manager Jose Mourinho and members of the squad.

Perez was reacting to a report in Spanish newspaper, Marca, which speculated that goalkeeper Iker Casillas and defender Sergio Ramos, had told the president during a meeting to choose between them and the former Chelsea boss.

“I break my rule not to speak to the press about the club’s day-by-day business due to the seriousness of the allegations published by Marca,” Perez said at the press conference.

“I’m not here to talk about Iker, only to deny the information that has come out this morning. I haven’t spoken to Mourinho, I came here of my own accord. They cannot play with an institution like Real Madrid.

“It is absolutely false that the captains said anything negative about the coach. No ultimatum was issued by Casillas or Ramos. The level of responsibility of the captains is incompatible with this information.

“The information published today [Thursday] is a pure lie and it’s a serious attack against the club. I have a lot of respect for the press and I always listen to criticism, regardless of whether I think it’s fair or not.

“But there are limits that must be respected. This is a serious matter. It is not a typical daily rumour, on who we sign or who we dismiss, It’s about ethics.”

After the press conference, Casillas and Ramos released a joint statement on the club’s website, supporting what Perez said.

“The two captains of Real Madrid want to communicate the following: That the meeting held on Tuesday with the president and CEO of the club never raised any ultimatum from us regarding the character of our coach,” the statement read.

“As captains of the staff and members of an excellent group of people and professionals, we categorically reject the use of our names and the rest of our squad’s in support of information that is entirely false.

“We want to show our support for the character of our coach, Jose Mourinho, to whom we owe the greatest respect.

“Finally, we wish to convey to the members and fans of Real Madrid our unalterable conviction that only through the unity of everyone at Real Madrid will we overcome all the challenges that we face each season.”

Don Jazzy has dismissed claims that he has a son from a failed marriage in the UK.

Just yesterday, several reports went viral on the Internet, which claimed the Mavin boss was once married and had a child with a mystery woman. In an interview, which the sources credited to Punch Newspapers, Don Jazzy allegedly said: “I’m single because I’ve not found the woman that my spirit agrees with.

“I was once married in the United Kingdom, but it was short lived. The union produced a son named after me. I don’t want to experience a collapsed marriage again. That is why I am taking my time, working and praying for a soul mate.”

However, he has now taken to Twitter to deny such rumours, calling the stories false. One of his fans sent him a tweet asking about the existence of the child and he replied firmly: “Unless u re the son, this is FALSE.”

 

Award-winning singer Wande Coal of Mavin Records delighted his fans, by releasing a brand new single ‘The Kick’ on 23 January 2013.

The new single “The Kick”, produced by and featuring the award-winning ace producer Don Jazzy, is one of the songs in Wande Coal’s forthcoming album, and takes off from the success of his other singles.

LISTEN:

Rivers State Governor, Mr Rotimi Amaechi on Monday asked the Minister of Niger Delta, Godsday Orubebe to resign, saying he had failed the region.

The face-off between the two has been ongoing for months and political observers see Amaechi’s outburst as the climax.

In a chat with newsmen in Houston, Texas, United States while in a meeting with Rivers State community, Amaechi queried that: “Under Orubebe, what development have we witnessed?; None.”

“It is a strategy to distract the Niger Delta people by trying to hide all his failures. I had gone through the region and no presence of his ministry was felt anywhere in the area of meaningful or people oriented projects.”

“I challenge him to a debate for every one project Orubebe can show me that he had done in the Niger Delta region. I will show him 10 of such projects in Rivers State.

“We did a 41-kilometre road to Opobo under water, yet the East-West Road on land he cannot complete. The Port Hacourt/Owerri Road is their road, yet we are doing it with Rivers State funds.”

The Governor, while responding to his rumoured presidential ambition, said: “I cannot contest against Mr. President.”

“We are from the same region. I respect him, and he is a good man. I am tired of responding to this issue of presidential ambition. It is normal to have contrary views on some topics but it doesn’t transcend to hatred.”

“It is the likes of Orubebe that fans the embers of hatred. It is unfortunate that he can accuse me of corruption, nobody has accused me before.

“If Orubebe wants us to go public any day, I am ready. I often tell them that the problem with me is that I am not an old man.”

“I am equal to the task of confronting anybody who confronts me on issues that are mundane. I advise him again to face his work, and make his presence felt in the region.”

Amaechi further stated thus, “After all, I don’t have any mansion anywhere, but I know Orubebe’s mansion. If he wants, we will show the world his mansions.”

 



Well, like we would say, these kind of things only happen in Nigeria.

We really can’t figure out the concept behind this wedding reception, but our rough guess is that the couple love the idea of Burj Arab in Dubai, and were keen on recreating something close to it here.

However, they scaled down theirs to a swimming pool, not the middle of an ocean.

Many have seen how dilapidated the police quarters are, possibly have heard how horrible the Nigerian Police cells can be. The reality is right from the Academy, the Nigerian Police officer has known no better way to live.

A Channels TV documentary on the life of students living in the Nigerian Police College Ikeja, Lagos has revealed the deplorable conditions they face. Its an irony that these students will later graduate to become policemen and women.

Channels TV had the opportunity to film a meal-time at the training college at Ikeja, Lagos, the crew recounted how they watched as the cadets struggled to get their bellies filled with substances not fit enough to call food. About 50 trainees were seen sharing one head of fish.

The documentary shows the sad state of the dormitories, the toilets and more. Students were seen urinating at the back of the building where the drainage system has broken down completely. The toilets and bathrooms are in such terrible conditions, one wonders how students manage to use them.

The college’s male dormitory 10, is one of those built by Nigerian colonial masters in 1940. Today, its windows and doors are damaged with no plans for any repairs. There is no electricity and the occupants point out blood stains from bed bug bites.

Also, the female hostels are in no way better. Meanwhile, the recruits will spend 13 months of their lives in there. An Olympic-size swimming pool is one of the facilities the college can once boost off, but have is now a breeding ground for toads.

Also, the college is known in wining medals for shooting all over West Africa but there is no shooting range anymore.

According to Jonah Mavah, the Deputy Commandant of the College, there has been no major development since establishment except for some few renovations.

The College itself was built to accommodate only 700 students but today, it contains 2,554. As for the library, the Staff says they cannot remember the last time books were supplied to the library which is full of museum pieces and antiquities called books bought in the 1970s.

There are 7 police colleges in Nigeria and a total of 18,500 constables graduated as at December 2012.

In 2013, a sum of N311 billion Naira has been budgeted for the Nigerian Police. It is hoped this money would be used judiciously and a significant part of it be allocated to improving infrastructure in the Police College and other facilities of the Nigerian Police.

As the Africa Cup of Nations kicks off this weekend in South Africa, Super Eagles goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, has vowed that if Nigeria wins the tournament, he will go half naked.

Enyeama, who is on loan at Maccabi Tel Aviv from Ligue 1 side Lille, is likely to be in between the posts for Stephen Keshi’s team, after Austine Ejide picked up a thigh injury.

“It will be a dream come true and I am certain I will strip to my shorts. Yes, let everyone hear it that I will strip to my shorts if we are champions,” the former Enyimba goalie said.

Beyond the continental fiesta, Enyeama is looking to keep playing till he is 40 years or more.

“I aim to keep playing until am 40 years old. If possible I wish to play till I am 42. I work hard and I am focused. I know that if I do as little as I did today (he spoke to supersport.com after the Super Eagles’ victory over Dutch side Sparta Rotterdam) in more matches then I can easily play that long.”

The stopper however said he takes each match as it comes, even as Nigeria awaits its first trophy in 19 years.

“Personally, I do not think we are looking at the trophy for now. We want to win the first game, then the next and then the one after that,” he said.

“Nigerians should have faith in us, believe the best of us and pray for us. It is not beyond our abilities to win the competition with God on our side.”

 

BBC’s African correspondent, Oluwashina Okeleji, has reported a blunder made by President Jacob Zuma, as his country prepares to host Africa.

The President reportedly said on national TV that “I hope the Africa Cup of Nations is won by an African team this time”.

Apparently, his media aides did not prep Zuma well for his Dame Patience moment, as the continental fiesta, is always competed for by African countries and is played on African soil.

The competition kicks off today with Zuma’s nation, South Africa squaring up against Cape Verde.

 

In a truly revealing interview with Punch Newspaper, Foluke Daramola, admitted that she had been raped when she was much younger and spoke on her career and Nollywood.

Excerpts:

 

Why I am more into movie production than acting

I am a person that is very restless in nature. I have been acting for over 18 years. I feel that it is becoming monotonous for me; doing the same old thing over and over again, despite the fact that creativity is dropping by the day. I still do a bit of acting; it is just that I am more of a production person. I am even derailing a bit back into doing English soap operas which was what I started out from. I started with soap opera and English movies before I delved into Yoruba movies.

Competition from upcoming actors

The only thing that is constant in life is change. If you do not look beyond and think outside of the box, you are going to box yourself in the corner. What I mean by that is that there is no how you would not grow. There is this proverb that says you have to take a bow when the ovation is loudest. Taking a bow doesn’t mean leaving the scene; it means you should go and re-strategise and find ways to work around things that would make you relevant. There is no way I would say my younger colleagues should not grow. I started out when I was a teenager and I have had my fair share of the industry. I’m still having it. I’m still staying relevant. The only thing you can do is just to make yourself relevant. A threat from the younger generation is not one that relates with me. I am not one that would sit in a corner. A lot of my colleagues ask why I read so much. I just had my masters degree, I am going for my Ph.D. I believe in dynamism and upgrading myself at every point in time so nobody is a threat to me.

Journey so far

When I started I was very young. I was about 16 years and I had not entered the university for my first degree. At that time, I was a young girl who wanted to have fun and I did not see myself as anything. One thing about me is that I have had it in my sub-conscious that stardom would not change me or take anything away from me. I have had my challenges, times when I wanted to party with my friends, go to clubs, parties, go out to have fun. People see me and begin to talk. At each point in time, because I was a teenager, I might have made one or two mistakes. At the end of the day, I learnt while growing up in the industry that you do not do things like this, you just walk around them. It is just part of learning in life. I am not one person that regrets anything. I just learn from my past. Anything I have done in life, I do not wish they never happened.

My dream of becoming a lecturer

I have always wanted to be a diplomat. I have always loved to be a lecturer; that is why I’m still upgrading my education. I had a scholarship in Canada but I had to postpone my admission to take another course. It is an ongoing process.

My parents’ reaction to my career

My dad is late; I lost him when I was very young. My mum was strongly against my movie career. She felt that I would be too exposed. Later, my mentors called her, spoke to her and gave her the assurance that I would still go to school. They told her that I would still be educated and do the normal things people do. She grudgingly agreed but I’m sure she has not regretted it so far. I sneaked to location several times after she said I should not go. There was a time she had to shave my head because I sneaked to location. I thought I would be back home that day but I did not get to our house until 2am. She was really worried; immediately she saw me, she picked a pair of scissors and shaved my head. I had to put relaxer on my hair to make it look like rough curls. Later, when she saw that I was determined and dogged about it, she allowed me. She just made me to sign an undertaking that I was going to go to school. She is an educationist so I had to sign and give her the assurance that I was going to go to school.

My first crush

I would say that my first crush was my first relationship. I was about 17 years old then. Unfortunately, he was not the first person I had sex with. I share it with the younger generation because it is something that has been talked about but I have got over it. The first time I had sex, I was raped. I had my first relationship with the first person I had a crush on, Seun Olomofe. He is one of the most caring and considerate persons I have ever met in my life. He was my mother’s close friend’s son. He was one person that showed me so much love. He was always there for me; he was the first person to ever make me a special card. I had a huge crush on him. When sex was not coming to play in the relationship, he said he was tired and I was so heart-broken. I was supposed to go to University of Lagos; it was because of him I changed my admission to Obafemi Awolowo University. I saw him as an epitome of the kind of person I would like to spend the rest of my life with. That was the first major crush that I had.

My first sexual encounter

My first introduction to sex was rape. It was with one of our tenants. I got so close to him and saw him as an elder brother. He looked at me as someone that had been exposed because I was busty and he thought I had had a sexual experience before. So he had his way with me. Then it was not something you tell the whole world. People said we should keep quiet about it. Then they tried to make trouble with him but subsequently people said we should keep quiet about it. We had to try and manage it in our own way even though it affected me for a long time psychologically. I had to gradually get over it. I believed so much in the principle of keeping your virginity till you are married. I started showbiz from Teen TV on DBN with Chichi Okaro. Then I used to be so vocal and when we spoke about pre-marital sex and virginity, I was always so passionate about it. It was such a disadvantage and a pity for me.

My experience as a busty lady

At the initial stage, I used to be so ashamed of myself. At that time, I would wear clothes that would not let my bust be noticeable. I was trying everything I could so that it would not be obvious. Subsequently, when I started acting and reading books, I read a book that said the best admirer you have is yourself and the way you carry yourself is how people would take you. I had to psyche myself to love it. After I did so, I noticed that I was getting advances even from people I didn’t expect, like some of my late father’s friends. Being a deep thinker, I always look at the advantage of everything, I saw that it was something I could not change so I had to make the best out of it. I got it into my sub-conscious that it was a plus than minus. I have had reasons to talk to a lot of people that are busty and who do not appreciate themselves. They now see it as an asset than a liability.

Errors in subtitles of Yoruba movies

The reason why that occurs is because we all want to be a jack of all trades and master of none. The few people that are educated know that there are supposed to be professionals for everything .The ones that are not believe that because they have a popular face, they are already stars and can do anything and get away with it. It’s partly the reason I reduced acting because it was already becoming a mess. If you know you are good at acting and you are a popular face, it does not mean you know it all. Some people are perfect for some jobs but because they want to cut corners and believe they can do it better than the next person, they make a mess of it.

My recent project

I am working on my latest project called Cobwebs. It is a cinema-bound movie. We take our movies to the cinema because we are expanding our scope. Home videos are giving us a lot of problems. So we have decided to do something else that would expand our network. We are shooting that. We are planning on featuring Femi Kuti in the movie. We are still talking with him. I know he doesn’t act but if I can get him, it would be a big break.

About my love life

No comment

 

CEO Mavin records, Michael Ajereh Collins aka Don Jazzy, has stated that one thing still preventing him from picking up a wife was because God fearing ladies were presently scarce.

Don Jazzy had equally added that slim ladies do not turn him on, as he prefers fleshy ones.

The Mavin boss who was recently rated as the 36th Most Influential Personality in Africa by forbes disclosed thus “I was once married in the United Kingdom, but it was short lived. The union produced a son named after me. I don’t want to experience a collapsed marriage again. That is why I am taking my time, working and praying for a soul mate”

He told Punch that “With due respect to slim ladies, there is no way any lady shaped like a broom can attract my full attention. I’m sorry but that’s the truth.”

“My ideal woman must be God-fearing. She must have all the basic curves in the right places. The rounder and bigger her chest and backside, the better,”

Meanwhile, Don Jazzy and his younger brother James Collins have set up an oil and gas company called Mavin Energy Limited.

Mavin Energy is a 24hours door to door diesel delivery service which supplies diesels to homes, small/medium scale businesses, with also the intention to supply to public establishments, large industries, construction companies, power companies and both Federal/State Parastatals and Agencies.

 

President Goodluck Jonathan, has labelled the documentary on the state of decay at the Police College, that was aired on Channels Television, as a smear campaign.

Jonathan, arrived the premises of the institution, at about 3pm for an unscheduled visit and saw first hand the state of things at the College.

It was major embarrasment for CP I.F. Yerima, the commandant of the college, who could not explain how the media house got exclusive images of the horrible sights in the establishment.

“This is a calculated attempt to damage the image of this government. The Police College, Ikeja is not the only training institution in Nigeria,” the president said.

It was gathered that a group of police recruits, hailed him as he made a tour of the facilities saying, “Our number one President, the God sent President, the President of Nigeria, among others.” Jonathan acknowledged the cheers by raising his right hand.