Nigerian sports-betting company, Bet9ja, has been announced as headline sponsor of the forthcoming season of the “Big Brother Naija” reality tv show.
Bet9ja is taking over from Payporte, who was the headline sponsor of Big Brother Season 3.
What happened to Payporte?
With every reality tv show comes an official sponsor, and for season 3 of Big Brother Naija which held last year, Payporte was the headline sponsor. It is pertinent to note that the Nigerian e-Commerce website was also the official sponsor of season 2.
Nigeria can boast of more than 20 functioning eCommerce websites. Arguably, Payporte being the lead sponsor of Big Brother Naija has brought a level of awareness to eCommerce in the country.
During the show’s run, Payporte supplied housemates with many of their glamorous outfits. This served as models to promote the brand, the housemates, in turn, made viewers aware that ordering the same outfits was just a click away.
Shortly after the Big Brother Naija show, bankruptcy was alleged to have crippled its way into Payporte’s business, as some staff members of Payporte called out their Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Eyo Bassey, over non-payment of salaries and owing large debts.
Iquo Okpo, a member of Payporte’s staff, last year, took to social media to call out the company for not paying salaries. Okpo, whose Instagram handle is “@pizjay” made the revelation on Instagram in an open letter to the organisation.
According to Okpo, “employees of the organisation have been afraid to speak out for fear of being blacklisted by their employer”. She claimed that Payporte has been owing staff for more than three months and has not remitted pension and tax for more than two years.
She also revealed that people who left the company ‘voluntarily and involuntarily’ are yet to be paid their outstanding wages.
In a series of tweets, it was alleged by the ex-staff members that the e-Commerce company’s debt profile was close to a billion naira. According to the thread, Payporte was owing five Nigerian banks over N400,000,000. Rent owed for the company’s head office in Lagos is alleged to be in the region of N52,000,000 while rent for an offline store in Lekki was N40,000,000. The company also owes some advertising agencies N50,000,000.
About Big Brother
Big Brother is an adult reality tv show created by John de Mol of Endemol, originally broadcast in the Netherlands and subsequently syndicated internationally. There have been over 400 seasons of Big Brother in over 54 countries and regions since its inception. The third season of Big Brother Nigeria held last year and was themed “Double Wahala.”
Housemates live together for a specified time in a specially constructed house that is isolated from the outside world. The Housemates vie to be the last person standing so they can win big prizes on offer. Housemates are closely monitored 24/7 on cameras throughout the duration.
About Bet9ja
Bet9ja, which covers all the major sporting events across Europe and the world, is the registered trading name of KC Gaming Networks Limited.
KC Gaming Networks Limited holds the Lagos State Lotteries Board license, the Sportsbook and Gaming license issued by the State of Osun, and is licensed to operate in all states where sports betting is permitted in Nigeria.
