Entertainment
Knocks, Praises As Yoruba Actors Openly Endorse Tinubu
Nigerians were on Wednesday divided on social media following the open endorsement of All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, by the Yoruba Nollywood actors.
While some backed the choice of the actors, others claimed that the same set of thespians was among those who allegedly foist President Muhammadu Buhari and attendant maladministration on Nigeria in 2015 and 2019.
The PUNCH reports that support for the APC presidential candidate receive a boost on Wednesday as Yoruba Nollywood superstars openly endorsed the former Lagos State governor.
The thespians noted that their support for the APC national leader had become imperative following his support for the movie industry, practitioners, and the ex-governor’s influence across the country.
The actors made their position known in a video clip shared by a veteran actor, Yinka Quadri, where some of his colleagues took turns to endorse Tinubu’s candidacy.
Those featured in the video clip were Yinka Quadri, Jide Kosoko, Fausat Balogun, Taiwo Hassan, Femi Adebayo, Shola Kosoko, Faithia Williams, Saheed Balogun, Murphy Afolabi, and Eniola Ajao among others.
But reacting to the endorsement, Nigerians on Twitter expressed concern over the Yoruba actors’ support for Tinubu at a time when the country allegedly needed a fresh hand with ideas as a leader.
@Theabiolasteven wrote, “The persons’ morality and integrity are to be questioned in the first place. Nollywood Yoruba as always been a hall of shame since time beyond, hungry sets of men and women. If the women are not Mc Oluomo short time knacks then the men are stomach infrastructure wobiyas.”
@Ifeadigoh also wrote, “Tinubu supporters have a tribalistic strategy that focuses on provoking the people from South East. They do this to get a reaction from the South Easterners which they would use to prove that South Easterners don’t like Yoruba. Divide and Conquer!”
@_Samcleave said, “You cannot watch Nollywood Yoruba, see how 95% of their products are senseless, and still think those that own that industry has any cognition to influence your electoral choices.”
@Letter_to_Jack wrote, “The only place canceling can get to Yoruba actors is IG Live and no one who’s dedicated to watching live videos of celebrities fanning vawulence will ever cancel them for any reason. They are out of reach on this one.
@PoojaMedia tweeted, “Okey Bakassi/Psquare endorse Peter Obi = They know the right it, it’s their right. Yoruba actors endorse Tinubu = They are canceled, why only Yoruba, tribal people. Focus on your candidate cos there will still be endorsements from your fav celebrities for their candidates.”
@ManLikeIcey wrote, “Psquare are free to support Peter Obi, it’s their right. Yoruba actors/actresses are free to support Tinubu, it’s their right. You’re equally allowed to support your preferred candidate, it’s your right. Don’t bully people for their constitutional right.
@AsiwajuOladimej said, “P Square campaigned for Obi. Obidients: Yes, this is good. They are Patriots. They are Democrats blah blah blah. Yoruba Actors campaigned for BAT. Obidients: They are bigots. They are tribalistic. They’ve been paid. Hypocrisy 101!”
@Taiwoalabiho2 – “A group of Yoruba actors made a jingle for BAT and you started ranting. Psquare, Phyno, Flavour and a number of South-South & South-Eastern celebrities are rallying support for Peter Obi, so what’s the problem? We cannot move forward with these double standards.”
@Wizarab10 – “Why are you insulting them? You don’t know what BAT has done for them or the Yoruba movie industry. Many of you don’t watch Yoruba movies anyway. Support your own, let them support their own. It is not affecting you.”
@IsoloShoemaker – “P-Square and others can support Peter Obi, but it becomes a sin when Yoruba actors campaign for Tinubu. Look at yourself and say to yourself “I am stupid”.”
@ThisIsAdemuyiwa – “What kinda campaign is this for goodness sake? You have attacked muslims cos Tinubu is a Muslim. You are now attacking Yorubas as if blackmailing and insults are the only available strategies. Sad to see the supposedly educated Nigerians UNLOOKING. It will be LABOUR IN VAIN!”
@lollylarry1 – “Why are u people angry about Yoruba Nollywood actors declaring support 4 Tinubu? You are claiming they got paid, so tell me, how much was Psquare paid 4 endorsing & campaigning 4 Peter Obi? You ppl hav not seen anything, by d time Ohaneze declare support 4 Tinubu, you’ll be shocked.”
@Ifeadigoh – “Tinubu supporters have been attacking Psquare for supporting Peter Obi, it didn’t work, they resort to blackmailing some Yoruba artistes with “Igbo artistes are supporting their own” How do you expect them to support a corrupt, selfish and thief like Tinubu? They get sense ni!”
Nigerian superstar Ayodeji Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid has officially made history as the first African artist to surpass 10 billion streams on Spotify across all credits.
This milestone cements his legacy as the leading figure in the global expansion of Afrobeats, having been the first African artist to reach every billion-stream threshold on the platform (from 1 billion to 10 billion).
The Ojuelegba crooner achieved the feat as his streams across all credits on the platform recently hit the 10 billion-stream mark.
His collaborative hit with Canadian superstar Drake and British singer, Tyla is his most streamed song on the platform with almost 4 billion streams.
His third studio album, ‘Made In Lagos Deluxe’ is his most streamed project on Spotify with over a billion streams.
Wizkid’s most streamed song as lead is ‘Essence’ featuring Tems, which has amassed over 333 million streams.
Meanwhile, American singer Billie Eilish’s ‘Birds Of A Feather’ has surpassed Tones and I’s ‘Dance Monkey’ as the most streamed solo song by a female artist in Spotify history.
‘Birds Of A Feather’ recently hit 3.37 billion to surpass ‘Dance Monkey’, which has 3.3 billion streams.
Actress and producer Funke Akindele has officially shattered box office records once again. Her latest film, Behind The Scenes, has surpassed her previous work to become the highest-grossing film of all time in West Africa.
The film reached this historic milestone after crossing the ₦1.77 billion mark at the box office in early January 2026.
This is according to box office performance data from cinema distributors and industry trackers across the region.
The development shows the growing commercial power of locally produced films and Funke Akindele’s continued dominance as Nollywood’s most bankable filmmaker.
The film’s record-breaking run comes after weeks of sustained audience turnout, strong word-of-mouth, and consistently high weekly grosses, positioning it ahead of Akindele’s previous blockbuster, Everybody Loves Jenifa, which ended its theatrical run at about N1.8 billion.
What the data is saying
Available data shows that Behind The Scenes has already recorded a cumulative box office gross of approximately N1.77 billion as of the last weekend in cinemas.
The movie also posted a historic N129.5 million single-day gross on Boxing Day, one of the highest ever recorded in Nollywood history.
In terms of audience turnout, the film leads West Africa’s 2025 admissions ranking with 223,768 admissions between January 1 and December 31, 2025 (not calculating spillover numbers in 2026 yet. This places it well ahead of Everybody Loves Jenifa, which recorded 148,863 admissions within the same period. The numbers reflect not just higher ticket prices, but a significantly larger cinema-going audience.
More context from the box office
Beyond becoming the region’s highest-grossing film, Behind The Scenes is also the highest-grossing movie of 2025 so far. It represents Funke Akindele’s third N1 billion film, an achievement that remains unprecedented in Nollywood.
The film features an expansive, star-studded cast including BBNaija stars Wanni x Handi, Uche Montana, Scarlet Gomez, Tobi Bakre, Uzor Arukwe, Vee, Mr Macaroni, Ini Dima-Okojie, Iyabo Ojo, Ibrahim Chatta, Dele Odule, Destiny Etiko, Kamo, Afeez Oyetoro, and Ejiro Onojafe. Its broad appeal across demographics helped sustain momentum weeks after release.
The success of Behind The Scenes reinforces Nollywood’s transition into a data-driven, big-budget industry capable of delivering consistent theatrical returns. Funke Akindele previously disclosed that the film’s production budget was close to N1 billion, highlighting the growing scale and financial risk of modern Nigerian filmmaking.
What you should know
Nairametrics has consistently reported on the rise of billion-naira Nollywood films and Funke Akindele’s outsized influence on the box office. The actress-producer had earlier warned fans against sharing pirated cinema recordings, emphasizing how piracy directly threatens film profitability.
Behind The Scenes had shown strong box office momentum from its opening weekend. Funke Akindele’s latest film recorded over N200 million in box office revenue during its first weekend in cinemas, making it the highest-grossing opening weekend of 2025, according to figures released by FilmOne Entertainment, the film’s West African distributor.
The movie, which debuted in cinemas on December 12, attracted 34,548 admissions between December 12 and 14, setting multiple opening-weekend benchmarks in the Nigerian film market. Within just two weeks of release, the title crossed the N500 million mark at the Nigerian box office.
Its momentum continued across the region, as Behind The Scenes surged past N1.1 billion at the West African box office just 17 days after release, becoming the fastest film in the region’s history to cross the billion-naira threshold.
Entertainment
Police Launch Manhunt For Portable Following Alleged Assault On Baby Mama, Ashabi Simple
Controversial Nigerian singer, Portable, has escaped police arrest after beating up his fourth baby mama, actress Ashabi Simple.
The incident reportedly happened on Thursday, January 1, 2026 during Ashabi’s visit to his bar in Ogun state.
In a viral video of the incident online, Ashabi, who was seen holding the singer’s cloth saying she’s tired of being called his baby mama, insisted that Portable must also recognise her as his wife.
She said: “Oya Pami baby, I’m also your wife, you’ve to stop calling me your baby mama.”
Portable immediately pushed her and replied that he only recognises his wife, Bewaji, noting that other women that have kids with him are baby mamas.
“I only have one wife, the rest of you are just baby mamas,” the singer said.
His response escalated the altercation with Ashabi responding emotionally “Then you will have to kill me, baby.”
After the commotion, the actress and her siblings reported Portable to the police for assault and abuse.
Speaking in a video on Instagram, Ashabi revealed that the police met Portable’s pregnant wife, Bewaji at home as Portable escaped arrest.
“I celebrated the new year in a happy mood with my family. You are the one that called me that you’re in a bad mood, and I told you that I went to my dad’s house for the new year. And you asked me to bring new year food for you and I said ok.
“I called you when I got to your bar, and you asked me to meet you outside. When I got there, we had a minor disagreement and you slapped me, beat me up, seized our phones and threatened my siblings and I with axe,” she alleged.
Reacting to the fight, many Nigerians berated her for forcing herself on him, while some said she has low self esteem.
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