Ilebaye denies begging for funds after winning N120M grand prize

Big Brother Naija All Stars winner, Ilebaye Odiniya has denied soliciting funds barely hours after winning the N120M grand prize.

Ilebaye had made a post, providing instructions to her fans on how to donate to her through legitimate channels. The reality TV star had shared an account number, noting that it was the appropriate place for those who wanted to contribute to her to put the money and send their gifts. 

Her management tweeted,

“We’ve received information about fans planning to send gifts or contributions. Please refrain from sending money to any account that isn’t officially posted on Ilebaye’s verified accounts. For gifts, please send an email. The only accessible account is the Baye Tribe account (9608176782 – Providus). We won’t be responsible for any misappropriation of funds. Thank you”.

She immediately came under fire for making such a post. An irate X user identified as Alexander called on the authorities to immediately arrest Ilebaye for ‘begging for more money on the internet’ after clinching the N120 million prize money and other goodies.

The X user also entreated the authorities, including the Department of State Services (DSS), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigeria Police Force to clampdown on individuals that would send Ilebaye money.

In  a new post, the BBNaija All Stars winner’s management clarified that the intention behind the initial post was not to solicit funds but rather to highlight the official account for transparency and to protect fans from potential scams.

According to the post, the move was necessitated to avert fraudsters cashing out with her name as they’d been duly informed about fans intentions to donate funds to her.

“This tweet was solely to avoid people who want to give gifts falling into the hands of scammers. We didn’t solicit for funds, we only highlighted the account we have access to.

”Too many fake account numbers are circulating and we will not be held accountable for any misappropriation,” the post read.