Less than week after an ostentatious birthday bash that set the small island of Grenada and the social media agog, Abuja-based socialite, Aisha Achimugu, has received warm greetings, with a caveat, from the Federal Capital Territory Inland Revenue Service (FCT-IRS).
The caveat: Ensure you pay tax and file your annual returns.
The agency’s comment, alongside others, wishing her well and critiquing the opulent 50th birthday event on X reads, “The FCT-Internal Revenue Service extends our warmest birthday wishes to you! May this special day be filled with joy and blessings. Remember to fulfill your tax obligations by filing your annual tax returns.”
Achimugu, wife of the first recorded fatal casualty of Covid-19 in Nigeria in 2020, appears unmoved by criticisms as she said in statement: “Good evening, everyone, lovers of mine. This is not an official thank you all for being there for me and coming to Grenada. It is a very tough time. It was a moment for me to thank everyone whom I should be concerned over the pleasant media help about this famous Aisha.
“And I want to congratulate myself for being the most popular person in the entire world, apart from the Gaza and Israeli fight, I guess something that’s most popular on the news globally. I give God the glory, and I thank God for my life. And for those who have genuinely shown concern over the media, I want to assure you that I’m well, I’m in a high spirit,
“I really don’t give a hoot. I’m doing me; I’ve always done me, a happy soul, doing what makes me happy.
“And again, celebrating people who love me, genuinely love me, who have always been there for me in the last 50 years and even less, but feels like they’ve known me all my life. I thank you all. Thank you to everyone who has called me privately, those who have shown concern on the platform, and even those who have been quiet about it and praying in their own time. I want to say I’m extremely, extremely very grateful.
“But I want to assure you all that this girl is moving ahead. I’m having a great time, and I’ll continue to have a great time and have a ball today, tomorrow, and Sunday for those of you who are going to be around. And for those who are genuinely not concerned, I love you all.
“For those who are a player of what it is, I love you all. It’s just me, Aisha Achimugu, and I remain me, continue to shine, I continue to do me, and I’m not doing anyone else. And I’m all not politically about it.”
The managing director/CEO of Felak Concept Group was again her opulent self when she held another event at Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja on Friday, January 26 in commemoration of her birthday. A dinner party was slated for the International Conference Centre in Abuja on Saturday from 8:30 pm.
Aisha Achimugu states further in her statement, “So, relate my message to those outside who are also calling you to show their concern and tell them that this young lady here is just starting, and they will hear more of me.
“I’ve not been in a media space, but since they’ve made it a duty for me to do that, I promise you’ll see more of my face in the media. So, in a lighter mode, just to let you know, I’m happy and looking forward to today.
“My most exciting moment is my charity ball, ten years of self, and then tomorrow to party and shut Nigeria down again. So I will give them things to talk about. Thank you. Thank you for the entire week. God bless you, and I look forward to seeing you and celebrating with you again. Thank you very much. Bye.”
In an extensive report, an online newspaper, Premium Times, wrote concerning the event and the role of Lagos State governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-olu, considered by many on social media to be more than a casual friend: . I. TY. Dr: Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos returned to Nigeria Wednesday morning after spending days partying in the Caribbean Island of Grenada in commemoration of the 50th birthday anniversary of Abuja-based businesswoman and socialite, Aisha Achimugu.
Sanwo-Olu flew in a private aircraft to the Carribean Island, and took residency in one of the most expensive resorts in the world.
Many officials of his government did not know his whereabouts for days, with some saying he was attending an official engagement in London and others simply telling us he was travelling abroad.
But PREMIUM TIMES can report that while the Mandilas building burned in Lagos on 21 January and many Lagosians remained overburdened by poverty and insecurity, their governor was reveling at a party at Calivigny Island, an 80-acre private and exquisite location which costs about $132,000 per night.
Those familiar with the event said organisers rented the Island for seven days, amounting to about $924,000 in total, in addition to other charges.
Sanwo-Olu and other participants alternated between Calivigny Island and Silversand Grenada, an exotic five-year-old seven-star luxury resort located in Grand Anse beach, where some events of the posh celebration were held.
Those familiar with the governor’s itinerary said he left Nigeria on Wednesday, 17 January for Achimugu’s birthday carnival which began with “a scrumptious welcome breakfast” and “a spectacular dinner with an explosive finish” that day. Other guests had arrived in Grenada on 16 January.
But Sanwo-Olu was only able to join the party on 18 January, the third day of the festivity. He remained there till 23 January, leaving his state without his leadership for days.
It remains unclear as of the time of this report why the governor left his duty post in Lagos, flew 7,585 kilometres to Grenada for a birthday party, at a time the people who elected him to office were grappling with severe and unprecedented economic hardship. Another yet unresolved question is how the governor funded his trip and stay in that Caribbean Island.
Sanwo-Olu did not answer calls made to him by one of our reporters seeking his comments for this report. He also did not respond to a message sent to him on the matter. The known telephone number of the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotosho, rang out the multiple times he was called.
SANWO-OLU AND THE SHUTTING DOWN OF GRENADA
Born 22 January, 1974, Aisha Achimugu, founder and managing director of Abuja-based Felak Concept Group, turned 50 on 22 January. The relationship between the socialite and Sanwo-Olu remained unclear but the governor was at the party to honour her.
Some of those who attended said it was one of the most opulent parties they have ever witnessed or heard about. The celebrant rented the Calivigny Island for one week and reserved rooms for her guests at Silversand Grenada. Several guests were also said to have been flown from Nigeria to the party location by chartered jets.
During the week-long party, Achimugu, a widow who lost her husband to Coronavirus in 2020, is said to have changed clothes at least 30 times, with each dress said to cost thousands of dollars. Those are in addition to the high-end clothes she used for a photoshoot with a celebrity photographer ahead of her event.
For most of the time, she was decked in very expensive diamond jewelry, wore designer shoes and carried Hermes crocodile-leather handbags, each said to cost between $50,000 and $80,000. One of the numerous parties took place aboard the Silver Angel, a Yacht sailing on the Caribbean sea under the flag of the United Kingdom.
In addition, a number of local and international A-list musicians and entertainers flew in to perform at the various events. Those who performed include Kenny G (American saxophonist and composer), Waje, Flavour, Adekunle Gold, Asake and Mr Killa (a Grenada musician).
Hypemen, disc jockeys, make-up artists, hair stylists and masters of ceremonies were also flown to the Island and were all paid in thousands of dollars for their services, those close to the organisers said.
David Reeves, who was the official disc jockey for the event, was seen at the end of the party displaying bundles of crisp U.S. Dollars (estimated to be up to $50,000) and saying excitedly, “who wan help you no go stress you”. Some of the musicians were sprayed with dollars as they performed.
One attendee reported that at the birthday, “exotic wines, expensive but delicious food, crisp dollars and obscene opulence were on display”. The source estimated the event to have cost the organisers billions of naira to organise.
“We basically shut down Grenada and the citizens of that country knew that Nigerians were in town, they knew the eagles had landed,” the source said, asking not to be named to avoid being ostracised by friends.
“But what even surprised me the most was seeing Sanwo-Olu at the event. Is he not sensitive to the mood of the Nigerian nation? What was he doing there as a public figure?”