• Okowa congratulates winner
• Warri erupts in wild jubilation
By Okon-Ekong, Chiemelie Ezeobi, Vanessa Obioha in Lagos and Sylvester Idowu in Warri
In an exciting show that brought to an end the 78-day drama in the Big Brother Naija house, 23-year-old Efe Michael Ejeba last night emerged the winner of the reality TV show.
Efe was among the 12 housemates who entered the house on January 22 to compete for the cash prize of N25 million and a new Kia Sorento Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) put up for grabs by the organisers.
Bassey and Debie-Rise later joined the competition, while fake housemates Jon and Ese also entered the competition to stir controversy and drama in the house.
In the live grand finale show, Marvis was the first person to be evicted from the house, followed by Debie-Rise.
TBoss’ emergence as the second runner-up created mixed reaction. She dominated social media in the last eviction show, which saw Bally leaving the game.
Celebrities like Uti Nwachukwu and DJ Xclusive proclaimed her winner and urged their fans to vote for her.
While her fans were clearly disappointed at the turn of events, others who considered her a threat were happy about her eviction.
However, she was rewarded with a N500,000 Payporte Voucher as the winner of the brand’s Friday Night Games, while Bisola won the prize for BBNaija and One Campaign’s ‘Back to School’ task.
For projecting the menace of poverty, the advocacy for girl education, Bisola will travel to New York to speak to the United Nations Assembly and world leaders on the issue of girl education.
In an earlier poll on social media, Efe gave the other four finalists Bisola, TBoss, Debie-Rise and Marvis a wide margin on votes.
The aspiring rapper gained more popularity when celebrity musicians including Wizkid, IcePrince, MI campaigned for him. He garnered a total number of 57.61 per cent votes to clinch the coveted prize.
This season marks the return of the show after a 10-year hiatus.
Katung Aduwak clinched the cash prize of $100,000 for that edition which also had actor Gideon Okeke and TV personality and host of this season’s show, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, among the contestants.
Formerly known as Big Brother Nigeria, BBNaija recorded high ratings, gaining thousands of followership on their social media pages as well as recording over six million chats.
To mark the end of the show, iconic musician, 2Baba, Tiwa Savage, Emmy Gee, AB Crazy and DJ Dimplez, entertained the enthusiastic crowd.
Meanwhile, Delta State Governor, Senator, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has congratulated Efe, describing him as a proud ambassador of the state.
The governor noted that he wasn’t surprised that Efe won the competition by a whopping 57 per cent of votes cast because he was well behaved in the Big Brother’s House.
In a statement in Asaba on Sunday by his Chief Press Secretary, Charles Aniagwu, the governor lauded Efe for being a good ambassador of the state, adding that the state government was proud to have supported talented Deltans to achieve their dreams.
“As a state, we are very delighted that our son Efe won the #BBNaija competition. We are glad that he related very well with the house mates and survived all the evictions and avoided controversies in the house,” he said.
“He has portrayed the Delta character of being a true patriot and a worthy ambassador of the state. As a state we have continued to support talents in sports, creative entertainment and even in business and we are glad that Efe has made us proud again.
“On behalf of the government and people of Delta State, I thank Deltans and indeed all Nigerians that supported our son #Efe to clinch the prize money. Indeed beyond the prize money, he has displayed leadership traits that have distinguished him as a role model and we are very happy to have him bring honour to the state,” the governor emphasised.
However, Warri, the home of Efe, erupted in wild jubilation on Sunday.
Fire works and gunshots rented the air immediately he was declared winner, beating Bisola in the show.
Most of Efe’s supporters had thronged various joints monitoring the outcome of the contest.
As soon as his name was announced as the winner of the contest, fire works and gunshots erupted spontaneously across the city.
Prominent among the people that monitored the final was the immediate past Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, who posted on his facebook wall “Delta BBN winning streak continues. Uti, Karen congrats.”
