On Friday, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) dissociated itself from ODF FOUNDATION, a non-profit owned by actress Nkechi Blessing’s estranged lover, Opeyemi Falegan.
‘‘SCAM ALERT.UNICEF Nigeria is aware of a fictitious donation drive to raise funds for UNICEF. Please be aware that all legitimate campaigns for donations are hosted on the UNICEF website and verified social media pages. Do not fall victim to this scam,’’ the agency wrote on its official social media pages.
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A quick check by PREMIUM TIMES on UNICEF’s website showed that ODF Foundation is not listed as one of the humanitarian aid organisation’s partners agencies.
Mr Falegun did not return calls nor respond to text messages by our reporter.
The foundation, which says it is committed to empowering widows and uplifting the lives of the less privileged, is situated in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.
Mr Falegan had initially announced a N54 million fundraiser. However, he was only able to raise N33,278 before UNICEF Nigeria issued the disclaimer on Friday.
Mr Falegan, on his Instagram page, announced the donations ended on Friday, saying he was able to raise 61pounds for the people of Ukraine through UNICEF.
He said: ‘‘This (the funds) is for the people of Ukraine who passed through a lot of dysfunctional/ disheartening situations in recent times.’’
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Background
For the last two days, the actress has engaged in a war of words on social media that can be traced to a post of a notorious blogger who alleged she was having a secret affair with her boss, a real estate agent czar.
Nkechi is the General Managing Director of Ojulowo Omoluabi Empire Holdings Limited. Currently, the real estate company has its head office in Abeokuta, Ogun state capital.
As a result of the blogger’s claim, the erstwhile lovers, in separate Instagram videos, have said they were never married.
On Thursday, Falegan, in an Instagram interview, claimed that his former lover clung to him because of his philanthropic gesture evident through his foundation.
When the actress was confronted with Falegan’s claims, she denied it.
“When we started our relationship, he told me that I should not have expectations meaning he doesn’t have money, but he told me that he has enough to take care of himself and me. So, I said okay, because I wasn’t even looking for a rich man because I am not lazy either, but I discovered he doesn’t even have a job along the line.
“I always tell people, I can date anybody and together, we would build an empire. At first, he told me he was in the Royal Air Force, but I discovered it was all lies. He only bought the uniform and did a photoshoot with me’’.
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