Amaju Pinnick, former president of the Nigeria Football Federation, has alleged that music star, David Adeleke, widely known as Davido, refused to perform at an event despite being paid about $94,600.
Pinnick claimed that Davido refused to turn up for the 19th edition of the “Warri Again” festival, despite being paid his performance fee, and his flight arrangements were also settled.
The football administrator said that the organizers of the event paid David Adeleke 18,000 to bring him to perform at the annual event held in Warri, Delta State.
He made this known to those in attendance at the “Warri Again” event saying in pidgin: “If im say him be big boy, we go tell am say we Big pass am.”
Part of what he said reads: “You see when people say dem big, I just dey laugh. The biggest artiste in Nigeria today, no be Burna Boy? Burna Boy is half Itsekiri. Burna Boy’s paternal grandmother is Itsekiri. So, he big pass am.”
Meanwhile, organizers of the Warri Again concert, have indicated their readiness to sue Davido for breach of contract.
As earlier claimed, they stressed that David Adeleke had received his complete payment to perform at the 19th edition of the event but he failed to show up.
Warri Again organizers threaten to sue Davido
In a statement released on Sunday, October 8, 2023, and signed by the Project Director, Brownhill Events Inc. organizers of the Warri Again concert, Mr. Victor Wokocha, they revealed that they have informed their legal team on the matter.
Wokocha vowed that Brownhill Events Inc. organizers would make use of all lawful options to ensure that Davido pays back the money paid to him.
An excerpt from their statement reads:
“Davido’s failure to perform at the concert despite having received full payment and logistics made available to guarantee his attendance is quite unfortunate.
“Our legal team has been fully briefed and will advise on the next steps.
They however emphasized how the event was a success despite the unavailability of the Afrobeat star.
They wrote: “Notwithstanding the unfortunate incident, the concert was a huge success and proved to be the best edition yet.”
Meanwhile, in responding to the allegations leveled against him, Davido took to his social platforms to prove his innocence over the matter.
He boasted that “nobody” can stop him from performing anyway across Nigeria, and assured fans in Warri that he would be physically present with them soon.
David Adeleke also claimed that he had informed organizers of the Warri Again event that he would be available for the concert but they continued promoting the show using his name.
Davido wrote on Instagram: “I was not going to be physically able to make it and this had been communicated to ‘them’ for a longgggg while now I mean MONTHS ago but for reasons best known to them, they continued to promote the show using my name. It’s a shame.”
Davido accuse Amaju Pinnick of killing the dreams of many Nigerian footballers
He also accused Amaju Pinick of killing the dreams of many Nigerian footballers due to his desire to live wealthily.
The 30-year-old wrote: “If I’m returning any money I’ll return it to any football charity organization.. INFACT I will DOUBLE IT….. MR DREAM CRUSHER …imagine how many Nigerian footballers have had their dreams crushed because person one live for ikoyi by force”.
Who is Davido?
David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, is a music icon known globally with several hits to his name.
Davido has also won numerous awards all across the globe and he has a large fanbase.
He owns a Nigerian record label named, “Davido Music Worldwide, commonly known as “DMW”.
The Afrobeat star is married to Chioma Rowland, and he has one son and two daughters.
Davido and football?
David Adeleke sang at the closing ceremony of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, he alongside Trinidad Cardona, and AISHA sang the official soundtrack of the Mundial.
In August 2023, Davido also sang at the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) Awards for England, becoming the first artist from Africa to perform at the event.
