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Emmanuel Ikubuese became popular when he won the Mr. Nigeria contest few years ago. But now, his popularity somewhat went a notch higher with his ‘sex’ role in  Fifty , a Mo Abudu movie. Of course, the sex scene he played in the movie got many buzzing with not a few people wondering aloud how Ikubuese could be so brazen in the movie. Explaining his role, Ikubuese said it was it was a job and he had to do it very well. “I see acting as an art and you need to prove yourself. The film does not have anything to do with our cultural values.  Fifty  has a vision and the vision is not only to sell in Nigeria but an international vision to show the world.  I believe movie is about bringing life into an act.” However, Ikubuese said he had hoped his parents didn’t get to watch the movie and see the role he played. “Actually, I didn’t want them to see it, they always come out to watch my movies at the cinemas but I did not tell them about  Fifty . But it was s...

Nothing defines the big league in Nigeria’s competitive entertainment industry as a mouth-watering endorsement deal a celebrity is offered. To many of them, this is what sets them apart from the entire lot making them live large and live up to that celeb status. There is no doubt that endorsement deals would feature prominently in the daily prayers of Nigeria’s celebrities. But then, the benevolence of the ‘god of endorsements’ has favoured few than others. Few days ago, the news broke that Nollywood actress, Eniola Badmus, had hooked an endorsement deal with Etisalat, while Davido announced his own new multimillion naira deal with Pepsi joining the ranks of other celebrities, who already have deals with telecommunications corporations and other blue chip companies. Asa  With a repertoire of songs that has continued to be favourite among lovers of sublime and highly deep music, it is a surprise that no company has yet to snatch up Asa, whose birth name is Bukola Elem...

As a way of reversing its 2015 financial year's 82 per cent slump in profit, the parent company of First Bank Nigeria Limited, FBN Holdings Plc has announced its plans to shed about 1000 jobs and focus less on providing loans to the oil industry. According to Bloomberg, the lender expects to boost its return on equity, a key measure of profitability, to between 11 per cent and 14 per cent in 2016 from last year's “really bad” figure of three per cent. The Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, FBN's main subsidiary, Mr. Adesola Adeduntan said in a telephone interview from Lagos on Wednesday that the company was also targeting a cost-to-income ratio of 55 per cent in two years time from 59 per cent. According to him, “ROE will be much better than last year. “At a minimum, we should triple it. We do not shy away from taking difficult decisions. We used to have above 8,000 people. We'll push it down, gradually to 7,000.” ...

Nollywood actor Muyiwa Ademola is one person to listen to when it comes to celebrity marriage talk. Muyiwa who is married to Omolara, will be celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary, which means he has seen a lot. Since the Tiwa Savage and her husband Tunji Tee Billz Balogun saga broke out, people have been talking but Muyiwa got something alarming to share about Nigerian celebrities. He said that life of celebrities is always full of ups and downs. “You struggle to be famous, you go through hell to remain famous. The whole world is aware of just one DEATH but two exist in the life of a celebrity. (1) When the fame is no more, they refer to him or her as being dead! The 2nd is the terminal one. Celebrities live with so much fear, the fear of waking up one day and realize the crave for you has gone. Thank God to that great concealer "Laughter". It hides a lot ! On several occasions, we pretend all is well whereas we hurt inside, we conceal all with laughter and s...

On Tuesday, April 19, 2016, bread hawker turned model, Olajumoke Orisaguna visited Liberty Bakery where she once called home to give back to bread hawkers who still struggle to make a livelihood from hawking bread. She gave about 40 bread hawkers N5,000 each donated by a philanthropist. During her visit to the place, Encomium had an interview with her on her change of fortune, her first day in school and sundry issues…see excerpts below: How will you describe life in the last two months? My life has changed. I am not the same person I used to be. In the sense that things are better for me and my family. I am now working, we have a beautiful place to call home. How are you enjoying your new home? I am really enjoying it. It is such a beautiful place. I can’t imagine myself having such a lovely place as my home. I can’t be more grateful. What do you like most about it? I like everything about the house, most especially my bedroom. In fact, I love everything about ...

The rate of celebrities being robbed is becoming alarming. This year we have recorded more than 10 celebrities being robbed of their valuables. Yesterday it was alleged that Yoruba actors, Akin Lewis and Regina Chukwu were robbed at their hotel rooms in surulere. According to YMG, the thespians who were shooting a movie in surulere, retired to their hotels rooms, soon after, they were robbed, and valuables were taken. It apparently looked like the robbers were aware the actors where in that particular hotel before striking. Although the actors are yet to release any official statement relating to the incident, but we promise to keep you updated as soon as more details comes up.

Tunji Balogun popularly known as Tee Billz has distanced himself from posts on his Instagram page hinting at a break-up with his wife, Tiwa Savage after claims she slept with Don Jazzy, Dr Sid and 2face. Tee Billz who set up a temporary account on Twitter said he did not write or post the content on his page, stressing that his account was hacked. “This is a temporary account. My real account was hacked. #teebillz,” he wrote on @teebillzTEMP He followed it up with a series of tweets. “All the comment that was being made are not true and are not written by me Tunji Balogun #teebillz” “I am in the process of getting back my account and have contacted the appropriate authorities.” “All this writing is so not me. Read things I’ve written in the past, that’s not how I write,” he said.

Nigerian award winning reggae and dancehall artiste, Generalpype, has been off the music radar for a while and his fans have been wondering what could have been going on with the singer. Well, the singer has been busy with other businesses and at the same time recording some music in the studio as he is currently working on a video of 'The Seed' which is due to be out soon. The singer after hard work has decided to make himself happy by acquring a ride for himself. He got himself a KIA which he could not hide from friends.

Yesterday, Mavin's First Lady Tiwa Savage released the video to a song off her R.E.D album. The song “If I Start To Talk” features Dr. Sid and it is quite a colourful and creative video. The sensational singer and mother of one also released some stunning pictures to accompany the video. She looked so lovely in every scene all thanks to makeup artist Dave Sucre. Perhaps these were the pictures her embattled husband, Teebliz saw and went berserk.

Ex-Super Eagles striker, Emmanuel Emenike, has termed as 'an insult' the decision of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to fix a another match on the same day that Joseph Yobo's testimonial match will be played even after the federation had approved the match to retire the former national team captain. Nigeria is set to play a friendly against Mali in France on May 27, the same day the Yobo testimonial will be staged in Port Harcourt. While speaking with journalists, Emenike said the decision of the NFF was ill-mannered to the former defender who had served the country with total devotion and had a century of caps to prove. 'If we are still on the same page of rebranding football, we should have the common sense of celebrating our heroes so that the younger ones in the team will live by example,' he told newsmen. 'Yobo deserves the honour and everybody has to turn up to celebrate him. But it's unfortunate that it's the NFF that ...

The Nigeria Police Force has  clarified the recent directive by the Inspector General, IGP Solomon Arase, “on the activities of unscrupulous elements who engage in illegal sale of petroleum products.” According to a statement by Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olabisi Kolawole,  people are free to buy fuel in gallons for legitimate purposes. She said,  “There is need to make some clarification that the directive was specifically targeted at those who are involved in hoarding and diverting the petroleum products. “However, those with genuine intention to use the products for their legal and genuine business are allowed to purchase the products. “The IGP emphasised that no stone will be left unturned by the police to checkmate those with the attitude of causing discomfort to the innocent citizens in the country.”

A 26-year old secondary school leaver, Oluwaseyi Babatola, who burnt to death five family members while they were sleeping, says he is being haunted daily by the memories of the children he murdered. Babatola, who spoke with our correspondent in Abuja, stated that he was disturbed by the thoughts of the two children that died along with their grandmother, mother and uncle, when he set their apartment on fire on April 15, 2015, at Sabongari, Bwari, in the Federal Capital Territory. The fire consumed the whole building, including the apartment of the Babatolas, and also injured the suspect. Babatola, who is being detained by the FCT Special Anti-Robbery Squad, identified his victims as Janet Isuawa; her sons, Samuel and Osaze; her cousin, Taphael; and Janet’s mother. Babatola, a mobile phone technician, stated that he had wanted to commit suicide after setting the family on fire, but was dissuaded by his younger brother, James, who asked him to report the incident to the pol...

Researchers at the Oregon State University have said taking beer can help people lose weight. In the report, which was published in the journal  Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics,  researchers say weight loss is one of the effects of  xanthohumol, a natural flavonoid found in hops. The researchers used mice to measure how varying levels of xanthohumol affects human systems. One of the researchers,  Cristobal Miranda, said the lab mice were fed a high-fat diet and given varying levels of xanthohumol. The rats given the highest dosage of xanthohumol cut bad cholesterol by 80 per cent and their insulin levels by 42 per cent. The report also said their levels of biomarker of inflammation, otherwise known as Interleukin-6 was reduced by 78 per cent. The researcher said xanthohumol are naturally not found in other plants except the hop plant, adding that any product like beer, hop tea, or a beverage or dietary supplement that contains hops, or hop extr...

The police in Lagos State have arrested a 16-year-old suspected cultist, Rilwan Okegbenro, for allegedly killing a man, Olawale Adebayo, who resided in Imosun in the Ikorodu area of the state. Okegbenro, who confessed to being a cultist and gave no fixed address, was apprehended on Wednesday by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad during a raid in the area. Our correspondent gathered that the raid was jointly carried out by the policemen and some local vigilance group members on black spots in the Sabo, Odogunyan and Igbogbo areas of Ikorodu. It was learnt that 18 suspects were arrested during the exercise. Okegbenro told the police in his statement that he and two other gang members participated in the killing of 22-year-old Adebayo. He said, “Two others, who are on the run, and I attacked the man behind a bank on Sagamu Road in the Ikorodu area. It was a Wednesday. We trailed him and my gang killed him. The man used to live at Imosun Close, Ikorodu.” Our corr...

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a resident of Shobowale Street in the Alagbado area of the state, Victoria Alaba, for allegedly killing the wife of her landlord during a scuffle. PUNCH Metro  learnt that the deceased, Mrs. Amosa Ogunyemi, had ordered Alaba and other tenants not to wash dirty clothes at a section on the premises as the compound was being messed up. It was said that the suspect ignored the order and was washing on the premises on Saturday when Ogunyemi approached her and told her to vacate the spot. Our correpondent gathered that Alaba declined the directive, causing an altercation between the two. A source close to the family told  PUNCH Metro  that Alaba, said to be in her 30s, pounced on the deceased and beat her up, while another resident said they engaged in a scuffle during which Ogunyemi gave up the ghost. It was learnt that the landlord’s wife, who was said to be in her late 50s, was rushed to a hospital in the area, but w...

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has criticized President Muhammadu Buhari for his reaction to increasing attacks and killings by herdsmen in several states in the country. He said, “When I read a short while ago, the Presidential assurance to this nation that the current homicidal escalation between the cattle prowlers and farming communities would soon be over, I felt mortified. “He had the solution, he said. Cattle ranches were being set up, and in another 18 months, rustlings, destruction of livelihood and killings from herdsmen would be ‘a thing of the past’. Eighteen months, he assured the nation. I believe his Minister of Agriculture echoed that later, but with a less dispiriting time schema. “Neither, however, could be considered a message of solace and reassurance for the ordinary Nigerian farmer and the lengthening cast of victims, much less to an intending tourist to the Forest Retreat of Tinana in the Rivers, the Ikogosi Springs or the Moslem architectur...