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Veteran Yoruba Actor Lere Paimo is alive, ANTP dismisses viral death report

Published

7 months ago

November 29, 2025

The Association of Nigeria Theatre Arts Practitioners (ANTP) has dismissed reports claiming that veteran Yoruba actor, Chief Olalere Osunpaimo, is dead.

The group said the 86-year-old theatre icon, popularly called Baba Eda Onile Ola, is alive.

The clarification came on Saturday after several Facebook posts falsely announcing his death spread online and caused confusion among theatre lovers and members of the Yoruba movie industry.

According to a statement signed by the National Public Relations Officer, Adejonwo Oluwafemi, the association confirmed the rumour was false after speaking directly with the actor’s family.

The statement read, “We would like to inform the public that reports circulating on Facebook about the passing of Chief Olalere OsunPaimo (MFR) are false.

“We have just spoken with Baba Eda Onile Ola and his wife. He is alive and in good health.

“Please disregard these false reports and be aware that they are being spread by unscrupulous individuals.”

ANTP also appealed to Nigerians to verify information before circulating it, warning that false stories about prominent figures can cause unnecessary fear and distress.

“We urge everyone to verify information before sharing to avoid spreading misinformation,” the association said.

Chief Lere Paimo is one of the oldest Nollywood and Yoruba theatre actors still active in the creative space. With a career spanning more than six decades, he holds an important place in Nigeria’s cultural history.

Paimo rose to national fame through the classic epic “Ogbori Elemosho” and has since featured in numerous stage plays, television dramas and Yoruba films that helped define traditional storytelling for younger generations.

Beyond acting, he is recognised as a cultural custodian, a trainer for young performers and a respected voice in the preservation of Yoruba heritage. His contributions earned him the national honour of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic.

News of his well-being has since brought relief to fans and colleagues who took to various platforms to celebrate the confirmation that the cultural icon is alive.
Many said the rumour was alarming because of his age and urged bloggers to stop spreading unverified stories about elderly entertainers.

Lere Paimo is one of the oldest Nollywood actors still working, and his presence remains influential in the Yoruba film industry.

Younger actors often describe him as a mentor and a bridge between the foundational era of indigenous cinema and the modern wave of Nollywood.

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News

Ndigbo will never move on from £20 compensation injustice — Aloy Ejimakor

Published

11 hours ago

June 13, 2026

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

Lawyer to Nnamdi Kanu, convicted leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, Aloy Ejimakor, has said Ndigbo will “never move on” from the injustices suffered after the Nigerian Civil War, particularly the confiscation of properties and the £20 compensation policy.

Ejimakor made the statement in a post on X on Saturday, where he argued that many people wrongly believe the Igbo have forgotten the humiliation and injustice experienced after the war.

“It seems to me that some people believe that Ndigbo have moved on from the humiliation & injustice of confiscating their properties & handing them a mere £20 at the end of the Civil War. Well, hear this: Ndigbo will NEVER move on until these injustices (plus more) are redressed,” he wrote.

The lawyer did not specify what additional grievances he was referring to, but his comments come amid renewed debates over historical injustices, reconciliation, and the treatment of the South-East region since the end of the Civil War in 1970.

It was reports that after the war, many Igbo people who had bank deposits before the conflict were reportedly given a flat sum of £20 regardless of the amount previously held in their accounts, a policy that has remained a subject of controversy for decades.

Ejimakor is one of the lead lawyers representing Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of IPOB, who was recently convicted on terrorism-related charges brought by the Federal Government.

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News

VIDEO: Release Nnamdi Kanu or arrest Sheikh Gumi – Primate Ayodele to Nigeria Govt

Published

12 hours ago

June 13, 2026

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has called on the Federal Government to release detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu.

Speaking to his congregation in a video sighted by DAILY POST, Primate Ayodele said if the Nigerian Government continues to keep Nnamdi Kanu, it should also arrest Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi.

He said, “The Nigerian government should release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Since you keep Kanu in prison, why can’t you keep Sheikh Gumi in prison too?

“You keep Nnamdi Kanu but Gumi is free. Then, how do you want to now manage the government.

“If Nnamdi Kanu is there, then go and take Gumi. Then Nigerians will believe that the government is serious. Protest will seize this Tinubu government,” he warned.

SEE THE VIDEO

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News

UN Secretary-General appoints Nigeria’s Eziakonwa as Special Adviser on Africa

Published

12 hours ago

June 13, 2026

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres on Friday announced the appointment of Ahunna Eziakonwa of Nigeria as Special Adviser on Africa.

She succeeds Cristina Duarte of the Republic of Cabo Verde, to whom the Secretary General is grateful for her commitment and dedicated service to the Organisation.

Eziakonwa brings nearly three decades of United Nations (UN) leadership to her new role.

In her current role as UN Assistant Secretary General, Assistant Administrator and Director, Regional Bureau for Africa, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), she oversees the organisation’s support to 46 African countries in pursuing Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

Since 2018, she has helped shape UNDP’s strategic approach to economic and political development across the continent.

Eziakonwa’s experience spans the full breadth of UN work in Africa.

She has served as UN Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in three countries – Ethiopia, Uganda and Lesotho – where she coordinated humanitarian action, development strategy and political engagement.

As Chief of the Africa Section at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in New York, she managed humanitarian operations across 15 African countries and held senior posts in Liberia and Sierra Leone during critical periods in those nations.

At UN Headquarters, she contributed to peacekeeping and political analysis and strategic communications pertaining to UN engagement in Africa, working with the UN Departments of Peacekeeping Operations, Political Affairs and Public Information.

Prior to joining the UN, she held positions in several African civil society organisations.

Eziakonwa holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs with a focus on African economic and political development from Columbia University, New York, USA, and a Bachelor of Arts in Pedagogy, English and Literary Studies from the University of Benin, Nigeria.

In addition to her native Igbo and English, she speaks fluent Yoruba and has a working knowledge of French.

NAN

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