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Old school tunes as Alibaba fetes wife, Mary Akpobome on birthday

By Daniel Anazia
14 July 2018   |   4:00 am
Good theme and music will take a party from a boring gathering to the party of the century.

Good theme and music will take a party from a boring gathering to the party of the century.

This played out on Wednesday, July 11, when Mary Akpobome, Chief Operating Officer of Heritage Banking Company Limited, HBCL wife of Nigeria’s king of comedy, Alibaba, celebrated her 50th birthday in style.

The event which took place at the Civic Centre in Lagos, had top dignitaries from all walks of life in attendance including former first lady of Lagos and wife of Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mrs Abimbola Fashola, Pastor and Mrs Sam Adeyemi, former Commissioner of Arts and Culture, Delta State and Nollywood legend, Richard Mofe Damijo, former Super Eagles captain, Joseph Yobo, Kate Henshaw, Toyin Abraham, Yibo Koko, Comedian AY Makun and his wife Mabel among others.

Anchored by Comedian TEE A, the event also saw the launch of the Purple Girl Foundation as well as fundraising for the foundation.

Describing the Purple Girl Foundation as a platform that advocates access to education and leadership development for the girl-child in Nigeria, Akpobome said its vision was to support young girls across primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions of learning from indigent families with tuition, education support, healthcare insurance, leadership and peer learning opportunities.

“An empowered girl will multiply the society. The foundation will provide everything for the child up to university level,” she said.

In her keynote address, the Founder and President, Wellbeing Foundation Africa, Mrs. Toyin Saraki, who was represented by the Chief Executive Officer, Wellbeing Foundation Africa, Amy Oyekunle, said Nigeria had a lot to gain from investing in the education of the girl-child.

She said, “Education for boys and girls is the key to releasing their potential for Nigeria and the world.  The return in investment in our girls is high.  The return in one year for one girl in secondary school is 25 per cent increase in living wages.“

In her goodwill message, the Deputy-Governor of Lagos State, Mrs. Idiat Adebule, represented by Yetunde Odejayi, noted that the girl-child had become more vulnerable to danger in the society and needed adequate support to safeguard her future.

“It is unacceptable that more girls will dropout of school due to these circumstances. This is a cause we must all support with our voices and resources,” she said.

With the school tunes belted out from the turntable by the disc jockey, guests made up of friend, associates and well-wisher hit the dance floor to unwind even though it was work day and the next day also was.

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