Broadcasting
Nigerian Idol: Faith Mac and Dotun Eliminated as Top 9 Emerge
Faith Mac and Dotun have been eliminated from the Top 11 stage of the Nigerian Idol competition after scoring the least votes in the first round of public voting.
During the live show on Sunday, May 16, show’s host IK Osakioduwa, reeled out the names of the contestants who made it through to the Top 9 stage of the competition, with each lucky contestant having the chance once again to prove their mettle with their song selection.
This week’s performances had the surviving contestants perform covers of songs composed by their music idols, while the judges – Seyi Shay, DJ Sose, and Obi Asika – watched in the capacity of audience members as the power to save and eliminate contestants had since left their hands.
Kingdom, who revealed that he idolised ‘Teni The Entertainer’, handed in a percussion-backed rendition of the hit song “Uyo Meyo”, which was well-received by the audience. DJ Sose remarked that he seemed very comfortable with the song and Seyi Shay noted that the performance was emotive.
Daniel went with a rendition of James Arthur’s “Empty Spaces”, which Seyi Shay criticized for lacking verve. Obi Asika was also critical of the song arrangement, but DJ Sose was of the opinion that he did a good job. Faith Jason, dressed in an all-red attire, performed a cover of Jon Bellion’s “All Time Low”, the same song that he had performed at the auditions, and the judges loved it even more this time around; Seyi Shay couldn’t contain her excitement.
Beyonce, who disclosed her admiration for the K-Pop band BTS, elected to perform a cover of the track “Dynamite”, with assistance from the live band. DJ Sose commended her for showing her playful side, and Obi Asika noted her growth through the stages of the competition.
Emmanuel, who had clearly become a fan favourite, rendered a soulful cover of Labrinth’s “Beneath Your Beautiful”, which was lauded by Obi Asika for the palpable emotion. Seyi Shay described it as “captivating”, and DJ Sose remarked that he would fare better as a live performer, in comparison to a studio recording.
The sixth contestant to be saved by the viewers was Akunna, the entertainment lawyer. Dressed in a glowing red gown, she took on the difficult task of covering Beyonce’s “XO”, but her strong voice carried the performance. The judges lauded her vocal range, as well as her stage presence.
The voters also appeared to show kindness to Clinton, who put his vocals to the test with John Legend’s “Tonight”, with some help from the live band. Seyi Shay felt that the delivery was not “natural”, but praised him for his vocals. On his part, DJ Sose felt that he “owned” the song.
There was a fleeting moment where IK Osakioduwa goaded the judges to disclose which of the remaining contestants would be saved, if it was up to them. Both Obi Asika and DJ Sose went with Francis and Comfort, but Seyi Shay decided to plead the fifth.
Also getting saved by the voting public was Francis, who chose to perform Sam Smith’s “Writing On The Wall”, the theme song for the James Bond film Spectre. It’s always difficult to match the energy of a Sam Smith song, but Francis pulled it off brilliantly, much to the applause of the judges: Obi Asika described his voice as a “lethal weapon.”
The ninth and final contestant to earn nods from the viewers on the night was Comfort, who found it difficult to control her emotions on learning that she had made it to the next stage. This meant that for Dotun and Faith Mac, their respective journeys at Nigerian Idol Season 6 had come to an end.
For her performance, Comfort went with a cover of Adekunle Gold’s “Ire.” The first few seconds were fraught with nerves, but she recovered quickly to deliver a strong performance, which Seyi Shay praised for the confidence displayed.
At this stage of Nigerian Idol Season 6, power is solely in the hands of the viewers, as they get to determine who stays and who leaves. You can vote for your favourite contestant via the Africa Magic website and mobile site by selecting contestants of your choice and entering your number of votes and click VOTE. Voting via these platforms are limited to 100 votes per user.
You can vote via the MyDStv App and MyGOtv Apps. Votes are free and are allocated based on your subscription packages. You can also send an SMS of your favourite contestants’ number to 32053, which costs N30 per SMS. Votes via SMS are limited to 100 votes per user and participating networks are Airtel & 9mobile. The voting window closes at 9pm on Wednesday, May 19, 2021.
Nigerian Idol Season 6 is sponsored by Bigi Drinks and Tecno Mobile. They can also follow this season of Nigerian Idol via the DStv app on multiple devices at no additional cost. The app is available for download on iOS and Android devices.
MultiChoice Nigeria has slashed the price of its DStv decoder from N20,000 to N10,000, representing a 50 percent drop, in a aim at attracting attract more customers and curb declining subscriptions.
The campaign, titled “We’ve Got You,” was launched on June 16 and will continue until July 31.
Also, as part of its efforts to ease economic pressure on households and improve access to digital TV services, the campaign offers a free upgrade for both active and returning customers.
Speaking on the campaign, John Ugbe, chief executive officer (CEO) of MultiChoice Nigeria, said the initiative reflects the company’s commitment to rewarding loyalty and enhancing daily viewing experiences.
“We want to ensure our customers feel appreciated and have access to the best entertainment every day,” Ugbe said.
“The ‘We’veGot You’ campaign is about making premium content more accessible and showing that DStv offers something for everyone, not just football fans.
“By repositioning itself as a platform for daily value, DStv aims to encourage content discovery across a wider array of genres, including movies, drama, kids’ programming, and news.
“This means more channels, more shows, and more reasons to tune in every day.”
The development comes amid MultiChoice Nigeria’s legal battle with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) over price hike.
Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) will, on Oct. 7, arraigned the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Qatar Airways, Mr Temi Birdzell, alongside the company and its top officers, over allegations bordering on breach of FCCPC Act, 2018.
The defendants will be arraigned before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Others to be arraigned with Birdzell are Stella Ihediwa, the Account Manager of the airline; Kennedy Chirchir, the Country Manager and Eva Ojeje, who is the Sales Manager of the company.
Although the arraignment was scheduled for Tuesday, the matter could not proceed.
Upon resumed hearing, none of the defendants was in court.
When the matter was called on Tuesday, none of the defendants was in court due to improper service of the court documents, including the hearing notice, on them.
FCCPC.’s lawyer, Chizenum Nsitem, told the court of their inability to serve four of the defendants, although the company was served.
Nsitem then sought an adjournment to enable them do the needful and the judge adjourned the matter until Oct. 7 for the defendants to take their plea.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the commission, in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/200/2025, dragged Qatar Airways, Birdzell, Ihediwa, Chirchir and Ojeje to court as 1st to 5th defendants respectively.
FCCPC, in the application dated May 26 but filed May 27, had preferred a two-count charge against the defendants.
The defendants were alleged to have failed to appear before FCCPC in compliance with a lawful summons of the commission dated Sept. 6, 2024, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 33 (3) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection (FCCPC) Act, 2018.
They were also accused to have on Sept. 18, 2024, intentionally withheld the production of documents in compliance wth a lawful summons of the commission, thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 111 of FCCP Act, 2018.
In count three, they were alleged to have on Sept. 18, 2024, engaged in the contravention of the consumer rights, thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 124(1) and punishable under Section 155 of the same Act.
Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) is set to arraign John Ugbe, chief executive officer, MultiChoice Nigeria Limited and other executives of the firm for impeding its investigation and failing to comply with lawful summons.
This is according to a charge sheet marked FHC/ABJ/CR/197/2025, filed by the FCCPC legal team led by Barrister Nsitem Chizenum.
This follows a May 8, 2025 ruling of the Federal High Court in Abuja which dismissed MultiChoice Nigeria Limited’s suit seeking to uphold its DStv and GOtv price increases in Nigeria.
In the charge sheet, where John Ugbe, Gozie Onumonu, Adewunmi Ogunsanya, and five others were named as defendants, MultiChoice Nigeria Limited was accused of failing without sufficient cause to appear before the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission on 6th March, 2025, in compliance with summons dated 25th February, 2025.
The Commission described the development as an offence against the FCCPC Act.
The Commission alleged that Adewunmi Ogunsanya, John Ugbe, and others, “being Directors of MultiChoice Nigeria Limited on or about the 6th day of March, 2025, at 23 Jimmy Carter Street, Asokoro, Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Court, caused the aforesaid MultiChoice Nigeria Limited to fail to produce documents which the Company was required to produce, in compliance with a lawful summons issued and dated 25 February, 2025, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 3 of the FCCPC Act 2018″.
The CEO and the Pay TV directors were further alleged to have caused MultiChoice Nigeria Limited to impede the investigation of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission by refusing to produce documents.
When the court resumed sitting on Tuesday, the FCCPC lawyer informed Justice James Omotosho that aside from MultiChoice, the defendants are yet to be personally served with the charge.
In view of that, Justice Omotosho adjourned the matter to October 7, 2025 for arraignment.
Recall that Justice Omotoso had dismissed a suit filed by MultiChoice Nigeria against the FCCPC.
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