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Chidimma Adetshina, Miss South Africa Hopeful, Quits After Citizenship Row

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A Miss South Africa contestant whose Nigerian heritage sparked a national controversy and a government investigation withdrew from the beauty pageant Thursday.

Chidimma Adetshina’s announcement that she would not take part in Saturday’s final came a day after the Home Affairs ministry accused her mother of fraud and identity theft.

“After much careful consideration, I have made the difficult decision to withdraw myself from the competition for the safety and wellbeing of my family and I,” Adetshina, 23, wrote on Instagram.

Adetshina, a law student, has been the subject of vicious, xenophobic attacks on social media since she was announced as a finalist in July, with many — including cabinet ministers — questioning her credentials because of her Nigerian descent.

Adetshina has previously told local media she was born in Soweto to a Nigerian father and a South African mother of Mozambican descent.

The ruckus led to an investigation into her citizenship following a request from the pageant’s organisers.

On Wednesday, home affairs minister Leon Schreiber said the investigation uncovered “prima facie indications” that Adetshina’s mother might have committed fraud and stolen the identity of a South African woman.

The ministry said it was obtaining legal advice on the implications of this on the citizenship of Adetshina, who was an infant at the time of the alleged fraud.

South Africa grants citizenship by birth to anyone born in the country after 1995 to a South African parent or permanent resident.

 

Adetshina’s participation in the pageant stoked anti-foreigner sentiment in the nation, which has witnessed violent, and at times deadly, attacks on immigrants in the past.

Politicians, celebrities and ordinary citizens weighed in on the debate. While many came to her defence, others argued she should be disqualified.

Announcing her decision to quit, Adetshina thanked everyone who “stood beside me right from the start of my Miss South Africa journey”.

“I am really grateful for all the love and support I have been shown,” she wrote.

 

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Singer Niniola Laments Husband’s Death

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Singer Niniola Apata has opened up about her late husband, Michael Ndika, and the central role he played in her music career and personal life.

 

Speaking in a video at a gathering held in his honour, Niniola recounted how their relationship shaped her growth as an artist and as a person.

Ndika, CEO of African music platform NaijaReview, died on May 19, 2026 at 44.

She said he was her strongest supporter from day one even when she considered stepping away from music, he pushed her to continue.

According to her, Ndika believed in her talent and vowed to make her a star.

Niniola described their bond as inseparable, stressing how he was part of her daily routine and her main source of emotional support. Since his death, she said, her life has changed completely.

She thanked his family for embracing her and admitted that coping with the loss has been hard.

Reflecting on their marriage, she called it a love story.

She said Ndika gave her everything and lived for her and while she was the face and voice of her brand, he was the engine behind it.

She said: “My story with Michael is a love story. Michael did everything for me. Everything was for me, he was breathing for me. He loved me, I loved him so much. And I learned so much from Michael. But Michael met me raw, and he said, I’ll make you a superstar.’ And he did. I was just the face and the voice, but Michael was the engine.

“Even when I decided to, you know, give music a break, he didn’t let it. The first person I saw in the morning was Michael. And the last person who closed my eyes at night was Michael. So now what do I do? Tell me, what do I do? Michael was the best thing, the best person that ever happened to me.”

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Lagos Traffic Radio To Launch 24hrs Service, Marks 14th Anniversary

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Air dominating Lagos radio station, Traffic radio, will begin a 24 hour service soon, even as the broadcast station marks it’s 14th anniversary.

 

The station was commissioned on May 29, 2012.
The milestone was celebrated on-air and across the station’s official digital platforms, with listeners and city officials engaging with the hashtag #LTRAt14.

The station’s astronomical progress in recent years has been attributed to the ingenuity of it’s General Manager, Mr Tayo Akanle, whom many have described as a thorough professional and a leader with listening ears.

 

 

Improving on it’s past records, the station now provides updates across multiple transit modes, including roads, train schedules, ferry movements, and flight times, ensuring seamless mobility across Lagos.

Attracting more commendation from listeners is the station’s ongoing modernization, particularly the integration of Live Camera Updates (LCU), which enables On-Air Personalities (OAPs) to share CCTV footage of major highways during gridlock.

Reviews and official perception surveys underscore the station’s high approval rating, with over 54% of Lagos road users tuning in daily during their morning and evening commutes.

As the station celebrates it’s 14th anniversary, sources close to it have revealed that there are underground activities, geared towards the station commencing a 24 hour service.

According to one of the sources, the management is keeping the plan close to it’s chest and will only mention it when everything needed to be done to ensure the delivery are concluded.

” I can confirm that the station is planning a 24 hour service, but the logistics are still being worked out. As things stand, the plan may materials before or by the end of this year” a source privy to the station’s activities disclosed to The Column News.

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Kate Henshaw Explains Fallout With Genevieve Nnaji

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Seasoned actress Kate Henshaw has opened up about her fallout with colleague Genevieve Nnaji.

 

Appearing on the Tea with Tay podcast, Henshaw reflected on the end of their friendship, saying it faded quickly.

Henshaw who could not identify the exact cause of the breakdown, stated they may have grown apart or that some level of mistrust existed, but she remains unsure of what happened.

“We grew apart. Maybe she had some kind of mistrust about me… I don’t know what happened. I don’t know what came over her but I’ve moved on,” Henshaw said.

The actress did not give further details on when the fallout occurred.

Both actresses are icons of Nollywood and have featured in several notable films since the late 1990s.

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