Nigerian singer and songwriter, Seyi Shay has opened up about the impact of her mentor, Sound Sultan’s death on her career.

She revealed that after Sound Sultan passed away in 2021, she lost the zeal to continue music.

Shay further explained that she became pregnant with her daughter around the same period, which also encouraged her to embark on a break due to the “toxic” nature of the music industry.

READ ALSO:200-level Student Wins Car As MTN Thrills UNIBEN With Campus Invasion

“During the filming of Nigerian Idol, my mentor, also my best friend, who is like a father figure to me, and also the person who brought me to the Nigerian music industry, died. He passed away; Sound Sultan,” Seyi Shay recalls in an interview with TVC.

“When I first came to Nigeria, I was living with him and his wife in FESTAC for a year. He was the one who co-signed me and introduced me to everybody in the industry to make sure that those who were his people look out for me.

READ ALSO:VIDEO: Moment Rema Walks Off Stage At Dreamville Festival Over Sound Issues

“So, when he passed away, it was really hard for me to complete the filming but I made it to the end. What hurt the most is that I didn’t get to see him before he passed away. I was supposed to fly to see him in New York that weekend when we had a break. He asked me to bring him something specifically. It just torn me apart. I felt like I didn’t have the will to continue to do music without Sound Sultan, my peace of mind, and my mental health. So, I decided to go on a little break.

“Also, during that period, I got pregnant and I told myself there’s no way I’m going to have my child in the toxic music industry that I’m in and under the scrutiny that I was constantly under. So, I just thought I should take a break.”

Ondo State Government has suspended three senior officials for their alleged involvement in a recruitment scam tied to the recent employment of teachers in the state.

The affected officials, two directors and a deputy director, were suspended on the directive of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, pending the conclusion of an ongoing investigation into the job racketeering scandal.

Reports indicated that the officials allegedly collected between N500,000 and N700,000 from unsuspecting applicants, depending on their academic qualifications, in exchange for fraudulent appointment letters.

READ ALSO:Job Seekers Protest Alleged Fake Employment Letters For Ondo Teaching Jobs

The matter came to public attention after several individuals staged a protest over their exclusion from the ongoing biometric verification exercise for newly recruited teachers. Investigations later revealed that many of the protesters had presented forged appointment documents.

In a statement issued by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Prince Ebenezer Adeniyan, the government clarified that the aggrieved protesters were not among the over 2,000 teachers legitimately recruited and already deployed across the state.

Adeniyan disclosed that internal investigations confirmed that the three officials at the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, had colluded with external collaborators to issue counterfeit appointment and posting letters to unsuspecting applicants in exchange for money.

READ ALSO:Ondo Bans Graduation Ceremonies In Primary, Junior Secondary Schools

“The attention of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has been drawn to reports of a protest by individuals claiming they were unjustly excluded from the SUBEB recruitment process.

“To be clear, those protesters were not genuine employees but victims of fraud who were issued fake letters after paying money to scammers. They were exposed during biometric verification and informed that their documents were invalid.

“Disciplinary action has already been taken against the three SUBEB insiders found to have conspired with outsiders in defrauding applicants,” Adeniyan stated.

Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Kingsley Moghalu, has described as unfair the demand for more taxes from Nigerians amid the profligacy and corruption by leaders.

Moghalu questioned how oil revenues and billions of dollars in borrowed funds had been spent, stressing that accountability must precede any fresh tax demands.

In a post on X on Sunday, the former CBN governor described Nigeria’s political class as “self-entitled elites” who lack transparency.

READ ALSO:FG Revokes 5% Telecom Tax On Voice, Data Services

While acknowledging that tax reforms are broadly in the right direction, Moghalu insisted that without addressing corruption and waste in governance, the burden on ordinary Nigerians would remain unjust.

He said: “The profligacy and corruption in what passes for governance in our country, Nigeria, makes it unfair to expect citizens to pay any additional taxes. While taxes are an important part of the social contract, the question must first be asked: what have the revenues from oil and the numerous loans we have borrowed been spent on?

“Accountability is a core principle of governance. It does not exist with our self-entitled political elites. While the tax reform laws are broadly in a good direction, the core questions of accountability and transparency must be addressed. They haven’t.”