Ilebaye Precious Odiniya has been crowned winner of Big Brother Naija All Stars, 70 days after competing with 20 ex-BBNaija housemates from previous seasons. She becomes the third female winner the reality TV show has produced after Mercy Eke, the 2019 winner, and Josephine ‘Phyna’ Otabor, the 2022 winner.
She emerged the winner after polling 30.8% votes in the final week ahead of the other top five finalists – Mercy Eke, Cynthia ‘Cee-C’ Nwadiora, Adekunle Tobilola Olopade, Pere Egbi and Cross Okonkwo. She was announced the winner at the BBNaija finale show on Sunday, October 1, 2023..
Mercy Eke, the first runner-up, had amassed 23.8% of the total votes, while Cross got the least votes with only 4.60%.
Ilebaye, who was a part of the Level 2 house during the BBNaija Level Up season, got emotional as she recalled her journey in the BBNaija All Stars house, which she had once called a depressive and sad journey.
“I was not expecting to make it this far,” she told Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, BBNaija’s host. She added that although she seemed calm about being up for possible evictions every week, she found strength in “hoping on God to take control.”
On the other hand, Mercy Eke, who emerged as the first runner-up of the All Stars season, went through an emotional rollercoaster as she revealed that she felt grateful for the fan love this season.
“I can hear people screaming my name, the love is so unreal. Coming back was definitely worth it for me,” she told Ebuka.
The BBNaija All Stars Season had 20 housemates and 4 house guests who had come to play the game to feature in a season with twists and turns. The season started out with two new twists as the Black Envelope game was introduced. The Black Envelope could grant immunity for the week to its bearer. Also, instead of the regular nominations, the housemates were to choose housemates to pardon, which led to the ‘Pepper Dem Alliance’ that soon fell through as the weeks passed by.
Then came their clash of egos that led to the housemates unknowingly crowning Ilebaye the winner as she was picked on in the house. Ike, one of the ex-Housemates had thrown her things in the bathroom for ‘disrespecting’ his friends and the housemates were confrontational about her crying strategy that led them to alienate her to victory.
Amidst all the ruckus, Ilebaye emerged the winner, despite getting two strikes for physically attacking Cee-C and Doyin during an argument. In the fans’ words, she was chosen by the ‘streets,’ there was no way she was going to lose after becoming the chosen one despite being up against big fanbases like Mercenaries and Spartans.
The ‘Gen-Z Baddies’, as she is fondly called by her fandom — Baye Tribe, was known for her resilience and party spirit. While she seemed somewhat intimidated by certain housemates in the house, it played a huge role in how she amassed her fanbase and how she has chosen to nurture relationships in the house.
During her time in the house, she won the Head of House game once and eventually became the female housemate with the most task wins. From the housemate who spent barely four weeks in Big Brother Level Up to the ultimate All Star, Ilebaye has proven that she is indeed deserving of the final prize.
Ex-BBNaija housemates and top personalities have been congratulating Ilebaye for taking the top spot while celebrating Mercy Eke’s fanbase for earning her the second spot despite being a previous winner on the show.
Reality TV star and actress Vee Iye said, “I’m happy for Ilebaye. She’s going to gain a lot from this season.” Nigerian film director Diji Aderogba also congratulated the winner. He said, “I wanted Ilebaye to win, but you see Mercy? She’s truly the BBN Queen. She knows her game well.”
Meanwhile, Reality TV star Erica Nlewedim was proud that the top three spots were occupied by the women. “After the men plotted to get the women out of the house, the women are the top three.” she tweeted.
As the winner of the All Stars season, she will be going home with the 120 million naira cash prize and a new Innoson GMT car, among other gifts from Pepsi, Munch IT and the likes.
The grand finale aired live on DStv channel 198 and GOtv channel 29, featuring live performances by Nigerian superstars BNXN and Skales.
