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I Get Death Threats Over Headies Awards -Ayo Animashaun

Published

10 years ago

January 10, 2016

Founder of Hip TV and executive producer of The Headies Award, Ayo Animashaun, spoke about the controversies trailing the recently-held Headies Awards in a very interesting interview with Punch’s Sunday Spice. You recall that Olamide had fallen out with Mavin boss Don Jazzy after his protege Lil Kesh didn’t win the Next Rated category that was won by Reekado Banks, Don Jazzy’s protege. Excerpts continue below…

Are you worried that the recent controversy may have marred the reputation you have built in 10 years?

I am not worried and there is nothing to worry about. I could if it was my meal ticket but it is not. Although we have had sponsors, but in the past five or six years, we have organised the Headies Awards singlehandedly, and this requires a lot of financial commitment. Artistes always disagree with awards. Some were vocal while others were not. This is not the first time something like this is happening. The screening team put in a lot of work.

What system was adopted for the voting process?

There was an online voting system which collects the phone numbers and email of voters and the votes are automatically counted. That way, you would see who won and who did not. It is devoid of any form of rigging because you cannot vote more than once in one hour. There are different voting categories and some are strictly left for the judges to decide. It is easy to discover if anyone voted or not. Two years ago, we stopped the SMS voting because our SMS partner complained that people came to them to lobby for votes. We did not want our credibility to become an issue. Artistes should learn to check the year under review and understand the definition of each category. People should always vote, or else another artiste will win over the one they like.

Were the awards lobbied for?

People try to lobby and it is not just right to mention names. Some have even offered to buy the cars. We bought three out of the eight cars that have been given out. We started giving out cars when the category became big and we did not want to stop. Revelation of the Year is supposed to be bigger than Next Rated but people attach more importance to it because it comes with a price and Nigerians like freebies. With all sense of humility and responsibility, the artistes cannot pay us and we cannot collect money from them. It is not in our character and we are not greedy. The award plaque is a 21-karat gold plaque and it is mounted on marble. We want to genuinely support the system.

Some people are of the opinion that some of the winning were undeserved.

If you do not vote, the win would be undeserved. It is the same thing as a political election. No one has the right to complain if they did not vote. The voting was poor this year. Most people took the voting for granted and did not vote, so how can they decide who should win and who should not? They should find out if the winners did anything other than just turning up for the awards. At least, someone would be angry enough to say we collected some money from him or her. We deserve some respect if that has not happened in 10 years, why should it occur at this time? We had an average of 500 nominees and over 109 winners.

Some also believe the results were influenced

I would feel offended if i’m ever asked whether we collected money from any artiste. I am like a father to them and I try not to meddle or prefer any artiste over the other. We did not influence the results submitted by the screening team and we also did not reveal the identities of all members of the jury. People have gone to the extent of threatening lives if their artistes do not win. I have reported some of them to the police too.

Fans believe Olamide should apologise to you. Has he?

Olamide is like a son to me. What he did was to the Headies and not to me but he has apologised to me personally. He knows the right thing to do because The Headies is a platform that has celebrated a lot of artistes including him. He and Don Jazzy apologised to me the next day. As the executive producer of the award, I do not act unilaterally, I have a board and we have a disciplinary team and very soon, they will come up with a statement on how to handle the whole issue. We would make it public.

Having enjoyed dominance for 10 years, do you think other award platforms should also spring up?

Of course they should. It is better to have more awards. You do not enjoy that kind of dominance when you spend your money all the time. Sometimes, I think I am crazy for still continuing every year, even without sponsorship. People go into business to make money; maybe others are smarter for not doing it. We do what we do because we have a passion for it.

How do you feel about P-Square boycotting the award?

You cannot have all the artistes in the country around every year. Just a few days before it held, we postponed the awards to two days and no one was given a prior notice. I cannot mandate artistes that were nominated to cancel their previous shows to be present at Headies. If they were billed to perform at another event, they would not return their payment because of Headies so as not to be sued. They performed last year at the Headies last year and they closed the show. I also saw Paul a day after the awards was held and we are fine.

How do you spend you relax?

I usually take a break after the award every year but I have not been able to do that for a couple of reasons. I usually travel alone or with my wife to a quiet place. This is not the time to go on long holidays, we still have a lot of opportunities to harness in Nigeria.

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President Tinubu Approves Major Road Infrastructure Boost – Reconstruction of Key Federal Roads in Niger State and Extension of Bodo–Bonny Road in Rivers State

Published

3 months ago

February 27, 2026

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In a significant move to enhance connectivity, durability, and economic development across Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has given the green light for the immediate reconstruction of three critical federal roads in Niger State, alongside the extension of the strategic Bodo–Bonny Road in Rivers State to link up with the East–West Road.

The three roads in Niger State earmarked for full reconstruction will utilize reinforced concrete pavement to guarantee long-lasting performance and better value for money. The projects include:

Mokwa–Bida Road(approximately 120 km)
Mokwa–Makeri Road (63 km)
Bida–Labata Road (123.5 km)

These upgrades aim to improve transportation efficiency, reduce maintenance costs over time, and support socio-economic activities in the North-Central region.

Additionally, President Tinubu has directed the extension of the Bodo–Bonny Road in Rivers State by connecting it to the East–West Road. This extension will be constructed as a *dual carriageway using concrete pavement and will feature solar-powered street lighting for enhanced safety and sustainability. The initiative is expected to boost access to coastal communities, facilitate trade, and strengthen integration in the Niger Delta area.

This approval underscores the administration’s ongoing commitment to revitalizing legacy infrastructure projects and delivering durable, high-quality road networks nationwide under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

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“Political Hushpuppi” Ugochinyere is one of PDP’s aberrations, he is only cashing out – Wike’s Aide

Published

2 years ago

November 24, 2024

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Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media to the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has described House of Representatives member from Ideato North and South Federal Constituency of Imo State, Imo Ugochinyere Ikeagwuonu, as a “political hushpuppi” who was produced by part of the aberrations in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) that must be made to stop.

Olayinka, who told Ugochinyere to “stop going about masturbating about anything Wike,” admonished him to face the reason for which he was elected into the House of Representatives so that his constituents will stop seeing him as a failure and consistently passing votes of no confidence against him.

While featuring on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Friday, Ugochinyere, had said that the FCT Minister and other G5 Governors like Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, former governors Samuel Ortom (Benue), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) and Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) were determined to destroy the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

However, in a statement in Abuja on Saturday, Olayinka said; “This is one of the things you get when people who joined the PDP today are awarded the ticket of the party tomorrow morning. If not for the aberration in the PDP that produced a character like Ugochinyere, someone who only joined the party in 2022 won’t be the one to lecture us about who is loyal to the party and who’s not.

“If PDP had functioned properly, would a ‘political hushpuppi’ like Ugochinyere have gotten the party’s ticket while still in another party? Even till today, as a PDP Rep member, Ugochinyere is still holding on to his Action Peoples Party (APP), using it to cash-out in Rivers State.

“Therefore, we on this side are not bothered because we understand why Ugochinyere must now mount the podium and accuse Wike of playing childish and kindergarten politics. He must satisfy those feeding him from the resources of Rivers State.”

While mocking Ugochinyere for always having an organization to speak for to carry out his political hustle, Olayinka said; “In saner climes, such character would have been arrested, tried and jailed for impersonation.

“When he got to the House of Representatives and there was no title under which his political hushpuppism would continue, he awarded to himself a non-existing title of ‘Spokesperson of Opposition Lawmakers Coalition in the 10th National Assembly,’ claiming to have been so appointed by the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP).

“But the questions are, is CUPP a political party with members in the House of Representatives? Where and when was CUPP registered? Apart from the positions of Minority Leader, Deputy Minority Leader, Minority Whip and Deputy Minority Whip, is there anything like spokesperson of opposition lawmakers in the National Assembly?

“Being a political hustler that he has always been, Ugochinyere, knew that he will be contravening the rules of the National Assembly by allocating to himself, a non-existing position, but he just must have a title to keep his hustle going, and indeed, it has been booming.

“Impersonating as spokesperson of opposition lawmakers in the House of Representatives, Ugochinyere has been cashing out in Rivers State in particular. If he is not using his former party, APP, to cash-out, he will be using his amorphous opposition lawmakers to chop from inside the Rivers.”

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Decimated Hezbollah says it is ready for cease-fire talks with Israel

Published

2 years ago

October 10, 2024

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Hezbollah said Tuesday it is now ready to engage in cease-fire talks with Israel, after suffering serious blows to its leadership and ranks in recent months.

The terror group in Lebanon made the announcement after firing more than 100 rockets at the Jewish state hours earlier.

Hezbollah’s deputy secretary general, Naim Qassem, publicly endorsed a truce with Israel, the first such time the terror group has proposed a cease-fire not conditioned on the war in Gaza.

“We support the political efforts led by [Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih] Berri under the banner of achieving a cease-fire,” Qassem said, according to a CNN translation.

“Once the cease-fire is firmly established and diplomacy can reach it, all other details will be discussed and decisions will be made collaboratively,” he added.

Qassem’s announcement came within hours of a massive barrage that sent more than 100 missiles soaring from Lebanon at Israel’s northern city of Haifa, the third-largest metropolis in the Jewish state.