• My life is at risk, entertainer, Whale Mouth cries out

Popular entertainer, Usiaphe Kevin (Whale Mouth), has cried out that his life and that of his family is in danger following Innocent ‘Tuface’ Idibia’s failure to show up for a scheduled performance.

The former Plantashun Boiz singer was billed to perform at the maiden ‘Ughelli To The World Concert/Awards’, which was scheduled for Wetland Hotel, on December 25.

Bemoaning his fate, Whale Mouth said: “At this very moment, my parents are being threatened. I have several threat messages, my investors are requesting for their return on investments, I have lost my integrity, and my team members are currently being looked for, as aggrieved guests caused serious chaos that the event couldn’t continue. Other artistes and comedians billed to perform couldn’t come out of their rooms for their own safety.

I want to once again apologise to all Ughelli people.” He said, “as much as it is painful for me to do this, a lot is at stake, my life is at risk at the moment, my team mates are currently threatened, aggrieved guests are being refunded at the moment while we are making measures to fix few vandalised property at the premises.”

Lamenting the unfortunate incident, he said, “I am not a scam, I have never in my entire life stolen or used dubious measures to make a kobo. I paid Tuface in full before December 25, the sum of N6 million, we had a performance agreement contract that was duly signed; we have receipts of payment to prove that. All necessary requirements from us were duly met and on time.”

According to him: “Tuface and his team were at the airport, as the flight was billed to take off by 11:45a.m. Vehicles and security escorts were already waiting for them at the Warri Airport. The last I heard from Tuface’s team was that the flight was delayed till 3:00pm, we waited only for the plane to arrive in Warri without him nor his team onboard.”

Usiaphe said, “we tried several measures to reach out to his team to know the situation of things but never got a response from him or his team, we called prominent Nigerians such as Dr. Ned Okonkwo, AY Comedian who is in Canada to reach him as well, all to no avail.

“We decided to go back to Ughelli to continue preparations and plans for the show only for us to see a video of Tuface apologising to me and Ughelli people on his official Instagram page without our knowledge claiming the Arik flight was cancelled, whereas that wasn’t the case as other artistes were on same flight.”

The video posted on his official Instagram page went viral in Ughelli just before the pre-show of the event and there was a total anarchy, as those who had bought tickets demanded for refunds, while those yet to get tickets were discouraged not to due to that video.

He said: “Till this very moment, I am yet to get a call or feedback from Tuface and his team on why he left the airport without boarding that Arik flight to Warri.”

He said: “The Ughelli To The World brand has lost its credibility and may not be able to recover from this catastrophe. Myself and my team are still trying to reach out to aggrieved guests, while we wait for Tuface’s to reach out to us as we are currently consulting with our lawyers to advise on what to do.”

Whale Mouth had told the media that the essence of Ughelli to the World Concert/Awards was to bring together all Ughelli kinsmen, residents, friends and well-wishers to celebrate their heritage.

He also said the event was to honour those who have held the torch of Ughelli in the world and promote the kingdom in a positive light, thereby, putting it on the global stage.

“Ughelli, as a town, used to be the glory of Delta State, as Government College, Ughelli, was a citadel of learning that many prominent Nigerians attended. Also, Beta Glass, ECN and so many institutions made Ughelli a city to visit. Today, it is not the case, so, we are here to change the narrative and rewrite our story. The likes of Mike Okri, Mudi Africa, Efe Ajagba, Ufuoma McDermott, Peggy Ovire, Efetobore Apochi, Johnny Ena, Destalker, Alibaba and others are all of Ughelli heritage.”

Also speaking on the bungled show, a popular journalist from Ughelli, who once edited a national newspaper, said: “I was there at the event, and in fact, a co-sponsor of it and this happened in my presence. But for a few of us elders, including Mudi Africa, whom the angry guests, mainly persons in their 20s respected, the damage at the venue would have been much worse, including perhaps, the lynching of Whale Mouth, the Lagos-based entertainer and show promoter who organised the event.”

Repeated calls made to Tuface’s manager, Efe Omoregbe for better part of yesterday failed to deliver, as his number did not go through for hours. He was apparently locked out of network.(The Guardian)

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