Veteran Nollywood actress Toyin Afolayan, popularly known as Lola Idije, has urged society to stop pressuring women to get married at an early age.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The actress stated that some women may not find their life partners until they are 40 or 50 years old, stressing that marriage should not be treated as a race.

She also appealed to people to stop judging women who raise children without husbands, noting that some become single mothers because of circumstances beyond their control.

Idije made these remarks during an appearance on the Africanlist Podcast.

According to her, not every woman has a husband to support her in raising children, leaving some to shoulder the responsibility of caring for their families alone.

She explained that becoming a single mother does not necessarily mean a woman made a wrong choice, as life can place people in situations they never anticipated.

The actress further questioned the wisdom of pressuring women to marry in their twenties, warning that such pressure could push some into choosing the wrong partners.

She said: “Not everybody will have a husband to help them raise their children. So women have to carry their burden alone. Not all of them choose that life. But if you start pressuring them at 20, how can you be sure that they won’t marry the wrong person? When women start giving birth, they become softer.”

Leaders of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the South-West have voiced their displeasure over what they described as the marginalisation of the party’s structures in the region by its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The South-West, considered the political stronghold of President Bola Tinubu, remains a crucial battleground for Atiku as he works to strengthen his political base ahead of the 2027 general election.

In the 2023 presidential election, Tinubu won Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti and Ondo states, while Atiku, who contested under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), secured victory in Osun State. Peter Obi of the Labour Party won Lagos State.

However, some ADC state chairmen and governorship candidates have reportedly accused Atiku of carrying out political activities in the region through his friends and associates while leaving the party’s established structures out of the process.

According to The Punch, the alleged development has generated discontent among party members and contributed to the slow pace of Atiku’s campaign activities in the region.

Some ADC insiders in the South-West also reportedly suggested that Atiku might be reluctant to commit additional funds to political activities in the region.

A party official alleged that the ADC presidential candidate had failed to provide financial support to the party, citing an incident involving the six South-West state chairmen who travelled to Abuja for a meeting with him on September 17.

“You can imagine a situation where the party chairmen in the six South-West states went to Abuja to attend a meeting with him (Atiku) on September 17 and our presidential candidate refused to give them transport fare. The chairmen are not happy with him for that. Maybe he is just targeting his 25 per cent in the region,” the official said.

It was also gathered that ADC governorship candidates and other party leaders held a meeting in Ibadan, Oyo State, on September 4, where they formally lodged complaints with the party’s National Secretary, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, over Atiku’s alleged failure to involve them in his political activities.

At the meeting, the candidates reportedly asked the party’s national secretariat to clarify whether Atiku intended to work with the ADC’s established structures or preferred to conduct his political activities through personal friends and allies.

One of the governorship candidates who attended the meeting told The Punch on Thursday that nearly all the ADC leaders in the South-West expressed concerns about the alleged sidelining of the party’s structures.

The candidate, who spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the matter, said there had been little improvement since the complaints were raised.

He said, “The meeting was hot. We told the national secretariat, through Aregbesola, that Atiku must respect the party structure and channel his campaign through it.

“Many of us at the meeting complained about the sidelining of the party in the South-West by our presidential candidate. We rejected his [Atiku’s] practice of using his friends and loyalists to run political activities that the party should ordinarily have been engaged in.

“We insisted that the party structures that produced all the governorship, national and state assembly candidates for the 2027 elections are the genuine party structures with which Atiku must engage.”

An ADC leader who also attended the meeting disclosed that Atiku subsequently held a virtual meeting with South-West party leaders on September 5, during which he reportedly reaffirmed his commitment to the party and promised to address their concerns.

The leader said Atiku directed each state to submit five names of party members for appointment to his campaign committee.

“He (Atiku) promised that there would be a change and that the party would henceforth be carried along in his political activities. But little has really changed since then,” the leader said.

Similarly, an ADC House of Assembly candidate in Ekiti State reportedly complained that Atiku’s campaign lacked visibility in the region because the party had not been adequately involved.

The candidate described the situation as discouraging, alleging that Atiku had not given sufficient attention to the party’s structure in the South-West.

“You can see nothing is happening in the South-West ADC. Everywhere is dull, and that is because the party has not been engaged by our presidential candidate. Only his friends have been involved in his campaign activities,” the candidate said.

Former Big Brother Naija housemate, Dorathy Bachor, has reacted to rumours that she is engaged to popular Nigerian comedian, Broda Shaggi.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The reality TV star expressed her displeasure over the speculation, saying she prefers to keep her personal life private rather than engage in public discussions about her relationship.

Dorathy also accused social media users of deliberately provoking her through their comments and assumptions.

She urged them to respect her privacy and allow her to go about her daily activities without unnecessary attention.

In a post shared on her social media page on Saturday, she wrote: “For someone who minds her business, you people really love to poke me. Leave me alone.”

The engagement rumours began after a romantic video of Dorathy and Broda Shaggi surfaced online, showing the pair sharing an intimate moment.

In the viral clip, Dorathy was seen lying beside the comedian on a bed while displaying what appeared to be an engagement ring to the camera.

Broda Shaggi also thanked her for standing by him during a difficult period in his life.

He said: “The first day I saw you, something in my heart knew you were the one. I have finally found my missing ribs.”