Efe Ejeba, the winner of the reality show, Big Brother Naija has been presented with the key to his SUV at a press conference held in Lagos to welcome him and Bisola Aiyeola, the first runner up of the show. Efe emerged winner after beating 11 other contenders to clinch the star prize of N25million and an SUV.
Managing Director, MultiChoice Nigeria, John Ugbe, speaking at the event, said MultiChoice was not only celebrating Efe but other people who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that the show was a phenomenal success.
“The Big Brother Naijashow was a veritable platform used in educating and enlightening the viewers about the many challenges, both social and environmental, being faced by people across the country through the many creative presentations made by housemates. In addition, it showed the power of voters as the winner emerged based on their votes,” said Ugbe.
“We also want to use this opportunity to celebrate our sponsors who believed in the project and put the seal of their brands on it,” Ugbe added.
In his remark, Efe thanked MultiChoice Nigeria for giving him the platform to show the world his person and for the opportunity. Efe said: “The feeling has been so amazing right from the airport up till this moment. I want to thank MultiChoice for this opportunity and the sponsors, Indomie, Minimie and Heritage Bank – for organising and paying for my wedding in the house – as well as PayPorte for all the beautiful clothes and shoes.”
Chief Executive Officer, PayPorte, Eyo Bassey, said, “PayPorte is proud of the show which had sold Nigeria to the world and we are happy with the sponsorship and relationship. We have already engaged four of the ex-housemates and we will take it further by supporting their business plans and even securing office spaces where they can begin. We are grateful for the opportunity.”
Also in attendance was Group Head, Corporate Affairs, Heritage Bank, Fela Ibidapo, who thanked MultiChoice for the privilege to support the show and give it value. “Heritage Bank hoped to define the platform and we are proud of our involvement as we took banking beyond financial activities.” The bank promised to continue to grow capacity for the ex-housemates.
The Big Brother Naija show was aimed at identifying, nurturing, and promoting young talent to a wide range of viewers across the African continent. After a 10-year hiatus, the show was repackaged to give more Nigerian youth the opportunity to showcase their talent to the world. The year’s edition was hosted by former Big Brother Nigeria housemate, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu.
Regional Director, M-Net, Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, said Big Brother Naija had indeed put Nigeria on the world map. According to her, in the history of M-Net productions, particularly in the last week before the show’s finale, they had never collated such a large amount of votes. “Over 27 million votes were recorded before the finale,” she enthused.
Other ex-housemates present at the conference included Bassey, Bally, ThinTallTony, Jon, Soma, Gifty and CocoIce.
