She didn’t have to say much. Well, maybe she didn’t have much to say. The five minute or less that erstwhile wife of pop singer 9ice, Toni Payne Akande, spent on The Future Awards stage last Sunday would have passed without strings until she ended her talk by introducing herself without her marital suffix- Akande.

The self-assertive independent entrepreneur and talent manager had come up stage to introduce Kefee’s performance, which she did well reciting her well-memorised script and then finishing up with the rude shock-  ‘I’m Toni Payne’. This is coming in her first major public appearance holding about six weeks after the press release announcing her separation from husband, Abolore Akande aka, 9ice.

And while fans of the couple, especially those of 9ice who initially applauded the union, are busy hoping and praying for a re-union, wife Toni is busy having a ball and showing it off to those who care to see, consciously omitting the last name that once made her headlines. If her actions and gestures are not a facade, then optimists of the couples reunion may need a miracle to see their prayers answered.

Abolore and Toni (Nee Payne)were married at a Surulere registry in Lagos in August, 2008. They are blessed with a baby boy, Zion.