I’m not searching for new partner

Chux Ohai

Estranged wife of singer-turned-politician, 9ice (real name is Abolore Akande), Toni Payne, has indicated that, contrary to speculations, she is not interested in giving marriage another shot just yet.

Toni, who was interviewed live on Classic 97.3 FM radio on Sunday, did not give a straight answer when asked if she would want 9ice back in her life. But she admitted that a lot of suitors had been asking to date her since they went their separate ways.

“I am not searching for a partner. At least, not now,” she said, in a tone that was intended to scare away adventurous male admirers.

Currently based in the United States, Toni revealed that the reason why she seemed to have melted off the entertainment scene in Nigeria was because she had transited from managing the affairs of music artistes to making short feature films. She said, “I am not into artiste management any more. I am now a film-maker and poet.”

The erstwhile artiste manager explained that film making was her real passion and what she had wanted to do all the while. “Sometimes you get to a point in life where you really have to look inward in order to move forward. I have done that and changed my mind about many things, including my career. Now I have decided that this is what I am going to do for a long time,” she said.

Apart from producing short feature films, Toni claimed, she directed them and wrote the scripts as well. She has just finished working on a new film titled ‘A Very Bad Day’, which was shot in Los Angeles, California, United States, for screening at international film festivals around the world.

Regarding her son, Zion, who is eight years old and, in her words, already manifesting signs that he might end up following in his father’s artistic foot-steps, she said, “He does bug me a little about having a younger brother or sister. Although I am not ready to have another child yet, if it happens by accident I would have no other choice than accept the situation as it is.”

Although Toni would not talk about the current man in her, she made it clear that she would never date a married man under any circumstance. “I am a very jealous woman. I don’t think that will ever happen,” she said.