Multiple award-winning entertainer, D’banj and superstar singer-songwriter, Simi, have been unveiled as judges for the seventh season on Nigerian Idol. Organisers of the reality TV singing competition, MultiChoice Nigeria, made the announcement earlier this week as the countdown to the show’s premiere on February 6 begins.
Popular radio and TV personality, IK Osakioduwa, will be returning as the show’s host for this season alongside Obi Asika who makes a comeback as a judge.
Speaking on the introduction of new judges for the new season, Executive Head, Content and West Africa Channels at MultiChoice Nigeria, Dr. Busola Tejumola said, “We could not think of a better trio to be the season’s judges than Obi Asika, D’banj and Simi. The three of them combined bring decades worth of experience in the music and entertainment business, as well as individual mastery of their crafts. We have no doubt that they will keep the viewers entertained in what will be a spectacular season!”
D’banj expressed excitement at being one of the judges this season saying, “I was out of the country when I found out that I was going to be a judge for this season of Nigerian Idol and I couldn’t contain my excitement. I’m coming in with my own strategy so viewers should expect a bang.”
On her part, Simi said, “I’ve always loved the idea of being a judge and I think it’s a fun thing to do. I plan to be very honest and have fun and hopefully gain inspiration from those that come on the show.”
Returning judge Obi Asika added, “I will be looking for special talents and new faces this year. I’m also excited to work with the rest of the judges this season, and I will be very fair and real to every contestant just like I was last year.”
In the sixth season of Nigerian Idol, Kingdom Kroseide emerged winner after months of intense musical contest involving over 10,000 hopefuls from across the country, and over 16 million votes recorded at the finale. Following the completion of the online and physical auditions last November, the countdown is officially on for a seventh season of the show, which premieres February 6, 2022 on DStv and GOtv.
Headline sponsor of Nigerian Idol season seven is Bigi Drinks and co-headline sponsor is Binance.
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The concessionaires complained of poor cooperation from state governments who mostly delay in meeting their own part of the agreement, for instance in the area of land provision.
Another major challenge they emphasised was the lack of narrow gauge rail lines in and out of the dry ports which they noted was important to make the operation of the ports efficient.
They added that access to funds also remained a major issue even as banks and foreign investors make unreasonable demands for assets and bank bonds before the release of funds.
The concessionaires unanimously stressed the need for the ports being constructed to be given the status of port of origin and destination and also to be registered with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) upon completion.
In view of the delay in execution, the concessionaires stressed the need for a new agreement, pointing out that an agreement started in 2017 between them and the NSC but it was yet to be cleared by the Federal Ministry of Justice on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Transportation.
They however commended the ICRC for its intervention and also appreciated the NSC for their support so far, noting that they were confident that under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, the contracts will be sorted out.
The concessionaires pledged their commitment to see the concession to conclusion and the ports operational even as two of the concessionaires, Equatorial Marine Oil and Gas Ltd for the Katsina ports and Dala Inland Dry Port for the Kano Ports declared that their ports will commence operation before the third quarter of 2022.
Managing Director of Equatorial Marine Oil and Gas Ltd, Mr Usman Iya Abbas, informed the ICRC team that the Funtua port was already at over 85 per cent completion and was ready to launch before the end of the second quarter of 2022.
“We hope to commission this project before the end of the second quarter and the ports will become functional immediately. We are lucky to have great relationships in the shipping industry and with major shipping lines.
Managing Director, Dala Inland Dry Port Ltd., Hon. Ahmed Rabiu, concessionaires of the Kano Inland Port also hinted that the construction of the container depot was already nearing completion.
He assured that the company was working assiduously to ensure project completion and take off before the end of March 2022.
On his part, ICRC’s Director of Contract Compliance Department, Dr Ewalefoh who chaired the technical session of the meeting assured the concessionaires of the continuous support of the Commission, charging them however to send a detailed update of the contract status reports to the ICRC.
The Ag. Head, Media and Publicity of ICRC, Manji Yarling said he further enjoined the other four concessionaires who were yet to make remarkable progress in their contract execution to emulate the milestone recorded by the other two who were finalizing their constructions, so that the ports can yield the economic benefits for which the concessions were granted.
While thanking the stakeholders for honouring the invitation of the ICRC, it was resolved that going forward, there will be periodic meetings to ensure that the projects are speedily completed.