Veteran Nollywood actor Olaiya Igwe has opened up about one of his greatest regrets—disappointing renowned gospel singer Tope Alabi on her wedding day.
According to a report by 9jagossip, the actor recalled that the incident occurred years ago after the success of his hit film, Ololade Mr. Money, when he had just purchased a luxurious car. Tope Alabi and her husband, Soji, had approached him with a request to use the vehicle as their official wedding car, and he initially agreed.
However, as the wedding day drew near, Olaiya Igwe had a change of heart due to a traumatic experience. He recounted that shortly before the event, he traveled to Ibadan, Oyo State, where robbers stole his newly acquired car. Although it was later recovered, the ordeal left him deeply shaken. Fearing another misfortune, he ultimately decided not to lend the vehicle, a decision he still regrets to this day.
As doubts crept in, he decided to avoid the situation entirely. A day before the wedding, he stopped answering Tope Alabi’s calls and refused to hand over the car as promised. This last-minute decision meant that the couple had to make alternative arrangements for their transportation.
Despite the passage of time, Olaiya Igwe admitted that the guilt of disappointing Tope Alabi has stayed with him. He acknowledged that she has since become highly successful, with multiple luxury cars that far exceed what he could have offered her at the time.
In his words: “Tope Alabi informed me about her wedding, and I just bought a car ‘V boot’ at that time. I went to Ibadan in Oyo State to show one of my films, and my car was stolen from me by robbers but it was later recovered the following day. When I returned from Ibadan, Tope Alabi came to my house in Abeokuta and said big brother please we want to use your car for our wedding and I said no problem. But after she left, I had a second thought that what if armed robbers snatched the car from them. I stopped picking her calls a day before the wedding. I didn’t give her the car.”