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Faithia Entertainment, Marlian Music At Loggerheads Over Cancelled “Zinoleesky’s” US Tour

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Olawale Babalola, the Chief Executive Officer of Fathia Entertainment, a company based in the United States of America, is currently at odds with the management of Marlian Music, claiming that they failed to fulfil their end of the bargain in terms of a US tour for Zinoleesky, one of their roster acts.

Babalola in an interview (with Punch Sunday Scoop) said, “We had a contract with Zinoleesky for a US tour. I had procured his visa and other necessary documents.

“First, he left Nigeria for Puerto Rico on the visa I got him without my consent, and that was a breach of the contract we signed. In the lead up to the event, I kept asking them, especially their manager, Gabby, who lives in London, United Kingdom, when they would arrive in the US, but they did not respond. When the controversy generated by Mohbad’s death came up and the backlash suffered by Marlian Music, they then called me three days to the commencement of the tour, that they had to postpone. I told them that tickets had already been sold, and we could not just postpone that way. Considering the bad press that their label was attracting, I told them to refund the money I had paid them, which was $45,000 deposit for the tour itself, $15,000 for their visas, and $6,500 for business class ticket for Zino. I have all the receipts of the payments I made to them. They asked me to exercise patience, but I told them that the independent promoters who had been engaged for the tour were already on my neck. Meanwhile, I was not suing them for damages, I only asked them to refund the exact payment I made to them.”

However, Marlian Records, on the other hand, claimed that it was Faithia that cancelled the tour.

Marlian Music’s Diaspora manager, Gabby, in an interview said that the contract signed with Fathia Entertainment spelt out that there would be no refund if the latter cancelled the tour. She said, “The contract with the promoter was rather clear. In the event of any sudden cancellation by the promoter, all deposits made would be forfeited.

“The artiste (Zinoleesky) cannot honour a performance that had been cancelled by no fault of his own. Additionally, we found out about the cancellation online, like the rest of the world.

“The promoter had executed an agreement detailing the results of the cancellation. More so, following the devastating passing of Mohbad (a former signee of Marlian Music), we shared with the promoter that we felt it best to postpone. Days after his death was announced, he (Fathia Entertainment) was still attempting to book more dates; being totally insensitive about the gravity of Mohbad’s death. Fathia did not give us the courtesy of notifying the artiste or his team of their intention to cancel the tour. The cancellation was the promoter’s decision.”

However, Babalola stated that the company was ‘forced’ to cancel the show when Marlian Music asked them to postpone the tour just four days to the D-day.

Responding to the claim, Gabby said, “Bad PR does not take priority over the death of a former artiste. The first show was scheduled for September 28, 2023.

“More so, with the false accusations circulating, I expected him to liaise with the team on a suitable solution given the threats online. Even Bella (Shmurda) postponed his Canadian tour following the news.

“We took the necessary steps to rearrange an alternate date but he decided to cancel without notifying us.”

 

Credit: The Punch

BIG STORY

Emefiele Loses Warehouse Built On 1.925 Hectares To Federal Government

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the final forfeiture of a warehouse linked to Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

According to The Guardian, top sources revealed that Justice Deinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Lagos issued the forfeiture order on Thursday, December 19, 2024, with the property forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The warehouse, built on a 1.925-hectare piece of land located at Km 8 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Magboro, contained 54 general-purpose steel containers.

The containers were filled with various types of sewing machines.

Earlier, on November 28, the judge had ordered the interim forfeiture of the assets after the Commission filed an application for their forfeiture.

Following the court’s directive for the EFCC to publish the order in two national newspapers, allowing any interested party to show cause why the assets should not be finally forfeited, the Commission later returned to court to request the final forfeiture of the assets.

According to the source, the court also ordered the forfeiture of the land on which the warehouse is situated to the government.

“At the resumed hearing of the matter on Thursday, EFCC Counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, told the court that the EFCC had complied with the court’s directives to publish the assets in two national newspapers,” the source said.

“Citing Section 44(2)(B) of the constitution and Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006, he prayed the court to grant the final forfeiture of the assets.

“Justice Dipeolu granted the order, making the forfeiture another milestone in the asset recovery drive of the EFCC.”

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10 Feared Dead, Several Others Injured At Catholic Church’s Palliative In Abuja

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A stampede at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama District of Abuja on Saturday morning has resulted in several deaths and numerous injuries.

The tragic incident occurred during a palliative distribution event organized by the church to assist struggling residents.

It was reported that chaos erupted as thousands of residents rushed to receive relief items, leading to the deadly crush.

Over 3,000 people, including children, mostly from nearby areas such as Mpape and Gishiri Village, had gathered for the event before the unfortunate incident took place.

Mike Umoh, the National Director of Social Communications at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, confirmed the incident.

“Yes, it’s true, but the details are sketchy,” he said in a brief statement.

On the same Saturday, a stampede in Okija, a community in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State in Nigeria’s South-east, also left many people dead.

According to Premium Times, witnesses reported that the victims had gathered to participate in the distribution of bags of rice donated by a well-known entrepreneur, Ernest Obiejesi, commonly referred to as Obijackson.

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NNPC Denies Misleading Report, Insists Port Harcourt Refinery Operational

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  • says product loading ongoing

 

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has affirmed that the renovated Port Harcourt refinery is fully operational.

The state-owned oil company clarified that preparations for loading operations were ongoing as of Saturday.

This clarification was made in a statement by Olufemi Soneye, the NNPC’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, on Saturday.

Soneye was responding to reports suggesting that the refinery had halted loading petroleum products just one month after its reopening.

He confirmed that the refinery is fully functional, with a recent verification by former NNPC Group Managing Directors.

An earlier report by Saturday Punch said that less than a month after the Port Harcourt Refining Company appeared to have resumed production, the facility had stopped working.

Reacting, Soneye said preparation for today’s loading was ongoing at the time of sending out the statement.

“The attention of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has been drawn to reports in a section of the media alleging that the Old Port Harcourt Refinery which was re-streamed two months ago has been shut down.

“We wish to clarify that such reports are totally false as the refinery is fully operational as verified a few days ago by former Group Managing Directors of NNPC.

“Preparation for the day’s loading operation is currently ongoing,” he said in the statement.

He urged members of the public to disregard the report saying the malicious reports were the work of individuals attempting to create artificial scarcity and exploit Nigerians.

“Members of the public are advised to discountenance such reports as they are the figments of the imagination of those who want to create artificial scarcity and rip-off Nigerians,” he stressed.

Olatunji Grace, a social media user with the handle @Tunjigrace, expressed her frustration, questioning the intentions of those who wish for things to go wrong in Nigeria.

She criticised individuals who discredit positive developments, stating, “Who are these people?

Does any other nation have such unfortunate citizens who pray for failure?”

She also expressed disappointment in a report by Punch Newspaper, describing it as “devilish and stupid journalism” that hides behind the guise of a “report.”

Another user, Patrick @Williamskane4, accused news media organisations of working with opposition political parties to spread fake news and misinformation.

He stated, “In collaboration with some opposition political parties, they spread lies, making propaganda their trade.”

Meanwhile, another user, Sarki @Waspapping_, defended the Old Port Harcourt Refinery’s operations, stating that the refinery is fully functional.

He questioned why some individuals and media outlets were spreading false narratives about shortages, claiming they aimed to exploit Nigerians.

Sarki emphasised that such misinformation benefits those who profit from scarcity and high prices and urged Nigerians to see through the lies and support local production efforts.

For decades, efforts to revive the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) seemed insurmountable. However, under Mele Kyari’s leadership, the once-elusive goal has been realised, signalling a critical step toward achieving energy self-sufficiency. This success is not only a milestone for the NNPCL but a testament to Kyari’s resolve to transform Nigeria’s energy landscape.

The Port Harcourt Refinery Company in Eleme is a sprawling facility divided into a 60,000-barrel-per-day-old refinery, and a new one capable of refining 150,000 barrels per day. The old refinery, operational since 1965, is Nigeria’s first refinery and had remained idle since 1990 when the newer unit became the primary production hub.

After over 30 years of dormancy, the old Port Harcourt refinery, which has a unique configuration where one barrel of crude oil yields a maximum of 23–24 per cent gasoline, was recently reopened by the NNPC Limited amid shock by forces against the revival of the country’s four refineries.

After the $1.5 billion approved by the Federal Government in 2021 for the comprehensive rehabilitation of the refinery had been judiciously spent, the NNPCL under Kyari’s sound leadership, reopened the Old Port Harcourt Refinery on Tuesday, November 26, 2024.

Today, the old Port Harcourt refinery is currently producing straight-run gasoline (Naphtha) blended into 1.4 million liters of PMS daily; 900,000 liters of kerosene; 1.5 million liters of Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel); 2.1 million liters of Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO), and additional volumes of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), also known as cooking gas.

Attempts by sceptics to rubbish the achievement recorded with the 60,000-barrel-per-day Port Harcourt refinery had been roundly repudiated by the NNPCL, workers at the refinery, experts, and delegates from the Presidency, Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, and Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers.

 

Credit: The Punch

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