Popular Nigerian singer Oludipe David, known as Spyro, has firmly defended his past claims involving music executives Paul Okoye (PaulO) and Ubi Franklin.
In a series of statements, Spyro explained his experiences under the management of PaulO and addressed allegations made against Ubi Franklin over financial disputes.
Spyro, who previously shared his struggles during his time with PaulO’s record label, has now provided further insight into his relationship with the label owner. He acknowledged PaulO’s positive qualities but expressed doubts about his knowledge of the music industry.
“Paulo has good intent and he is a kind person, but I personally didn’t feel that he knew much about the record label system as of then,” Spyro said.
He went on to mention that although PaulO’s intentions were good, there were challenges in the relationship, including incidents of alleged mistreatment, which Spyro chose not to discuss in detail.
This clarification comes on the heels of a public exchange between Spyro and Okoye on social media. Recently, in a viral interview on the Echo Room podcast, Spyro opened up about his difficult experience in the music industry, particularly while signed to PaulO’s label.
He recalled how, despite being under the management of a wealthy label owner with resources, he struggled financially. “I was signed to PaulO of One Africa Music Fest. I didn’t make anything from the label, and PaulO knew my plight but did nothing about it. I was in tears because nothing was going well for me. I was signed to a label owned by a billionaire with three Rolls Royces, yet nothing to show,” Spyro shared.
In addition to his accusations against PaulO, Spyro also called out music executive Ubi Franklin over a performance payment dispute.
Spyro claimed that Franklin tricked him into performing at a show in Ghana for a reduced fee of $5,000, allegedly using Davido’s name to persuade him. However, after the show, Spyro says Franklin kept giving excuses when asked about the payment.
In response, Franklin countered Spyro’s claims with accusations of his own. According to Franklin, Spyro had reached out to him prior to the show about purchasing a car, and Franklin helped facilitate the deal.
“Before the day of the show, Spyro had reached out to me that he wanted to buy a car and that’s what I do. If I connect you on a deal, I get 10 per cent. I connected him to the deal and he picked up the car without giving me my 10 per cent,” Franklin explained.
He further claimed that he had paid for Spyro’s trip to Ghana and was willing to pay him the agreed $5,000 for the performance. However, Franklin argued that Spyro owed him N2.5 million after accounting for the expenses.
