By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Popular actor and Hollyoaks star, Paul Danan has died at the age of 46

He was best known for playing bad boy Sol Patrick in the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Danan later appeared on the celebrity versions of Love Island and Big Brother.

The actor had been due to appear for a plea hearing at Warrington Magistrates’ Court on Thursday after being charged with having several bags of cocaine and a “quantity” of cannabis, according to court documents.

He was also accused of driving while under the influence of drugs on 2 October last year in Warrington, Cheshire.

Announcing his death, Danan’s management said in a statement: “It is with heavy hearts that we share the tragic news of the passing of @pauldanan at just 46 years old.

“Known for his television presence, exceptional talent, and unwavering kindness, Paul was a beacon of light to so many.

His untimely departure will leave irreplaceable voids in the lives of all who knew him.

“During this difficult time, we kindly request respect and privacy for Paul’s family, friends, and colleagues. No further comments will be made at this time.”

Danan’s last post on his official Instagram page was a short video audition for the Shakespeare play Twelfth Night, in which he was reading for the role of Orsino.

He posted it one week ago, commenting on how “beautiful and exhilarating it is” to get stuck into new work.

Calum Best, who worked with Danan across several TV shows including Celebrity Love Island, hailed him as “one of the funniest, kindest, and most real people” he had ever known and a “creative genius”.

He said in a statement: “Paul was one of the funniest, kindest, and most real people I’ve ever known – truly a creative genius too. Life wasn’t always easy for him, but he faced it with such heart and courage, and that inspired so many of us.

“We shared so many laughs, chats, and unforgettable moments. My heart goes out to his loved ones right now. Rest easy, brother.”

DJ Fat Tony was one of the first to pay tribute on social media, calling him “one of the sweetest men,” saying Danan’s death at such a young age “hurts so bad”.

Former EastEnders actor Michael Greco remembered Danan as a “genuine and caring man,” sharing a photo of the actor on his Instagram Story.

Greco wrote in a message: “So, so sad to read about the passing of Paul Danan. In this day and age of falsities and fake people, he was a genuine and caring man who just wanted to please everyone.

“A lovely warm man that will be missed by many. R.I.P. Buddy.”

Fellow EastEnders star Dean Gaffney also shared a photo of Danan on his Instagram Story, writing: “You had your demons but my god you had a heart of gold… RIP Mr Paul Danan.”

Kidulthood star Adam Deacon wrote in an Instagram story: “I just heard the devastating news about Paul Danan tragically passing away.

I had the pleasure of working with him, and he was a genuinely kind and compassionate person.” He added that his “thoughts” are with his friends and family.

Danan, who was born in Essex, trained at Italia Conti drama school in Woking.

He joined the cast of Hollyoaks aged 19, and quickly became a fan favourite, remaining on the show for four years.

Nominated for best actor at the Inside Soap Awards in 1999, his character left the show in 2001, fleeing the village after being falsely accused of murdering his girlfriend’s brother.

A role he loved, Danan would regularly call for his character’s return to the teen soap.

Following his Hollyoaks success, Danan moved to LA, where he tried to establish a career in Hollywood, but later said he spent too much time partying to find success.

He appeared twice as a contestant on Celebrity Love Island in 2005 and 2006 but did not win either series.

He also appeared in the 2006 ITV2 reality show Calum, Fran And Dangerous Danan, which saw the actor, former Westlife bodyguard Fran Cosgrave and George Best’s son Calum Best travel across the US.

In 2010, Danan pleaded guilty to drugs and public order offences, and was fined £350 and referred to a drugs agency for support by Stevenage Magistrates’ Court.

In 2017, he took part in Channel 5’s Celebrity Big Brother, where he was evicted early. He said at the time he hoped the series would give him a “second chance” at his career.

More recently, he began the podcast The Morning After With Paul Danan, which lasted from 2019 until 2023.

He had also appeared on shows including E4’s Celebrity Coach Trip, Channel 4 sketch comedy programme The Kevin Bishop Show, and CBBC show The Queen’s Nose, playing Melody’s agent Max.

Danan had spoken openly about his issues with substance abuse and poor mental health and discussed his addiction and recovery on ITV’s The Jeremy Kyle Show in 2019.

He said his substance abuse had begun when he was a teenager, adding he had to “work hard at it every day to keep in recovery”.

In 2022, Danan told The Sun a relapse over lockdown had left him homeless.

A former smoker, Danan later told the paper his reliance on vapes had left him in intensive care with pneumonia and an ongoing lung condition over the summer.

Describing his collapse, which he said was caused by over-e-cigarette use, he said a nurse had warned him if he was to “ever smoke in any form again, I risk being linked to an oxygen tank later on in life”.

In 2020, Danan set up a theatre company called Morning After Drama in Bristol, offering free workshops to vulnerable groups.

He had also planned to set up a linked charity, The Other Side Of Morning CIC to offer community projects around the country.

He had shared news about fundraising for the charity on TikTok in late December.

Danan leaves behind his nine-year-old son, Deniro.

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has described the death of the Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Hon. Adewunmi Onanuga, as a colossal loss to the country.

Hon. Onanuga, who represented Sagamu, Ikenne, and Remo North Federal Constituencies, died on Wednesday after a brief illness.

Princess Comfort Folashade Esusu, mother of the deceased Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Hon. Adewunmi Onanuga, during a condolence visit to the residence of the Onanugas by Governor Dapo Abiodun in Sagamu, on Thursday.
The Governor, during a visit to the Sagamu residence of the Onanugas, said that her death was shocking, sad, devastating, and a painful one to accept.

He described the late politician as very loyal and a dependable ally, adding that she was reliable, very consistent, and extremely hardworking.

The Governor promised that the state government would stand by the family.

“She was very loyal, very dependable, very consistent, very reliable. She was extremely hardworking, and besides the fact that this has come untimely, this has happened in the wrong order.

“We have lost a gem of a woman, not just in Sagamu or Remo, but the state and the country. She was one of our shining stars; she has impacted so many lives.

“She was the Deputy Chief Whip and contributed her own in the National Assembly. She sponsored bills; she was very intelligent, articulate, eloquent, bold, and audacious,” he said.

The Governor also described the late lawmaker as very tenacious, adding that when she believed in anything, she saw such a task to a logical conclusion.

Speaking on behalf of the family, Dr. John Okoh thanked the Governor for standing by the family during this sad moment, noting that the family would continue to live up to her legacies.

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Ahead of the passage of 2025 Appropriation Bill, the National Assembly Joint Committee on Agricultural Production and Services has vowed to award zero allocations to agencies under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in this year’s budget.

The National Assembly has reiterated that agencies that fail to be represented by their respective chief accounting officers would not be allowed to make their presentations.

According to the Chairman, Senate Committee on Agricultural Production and Services, Saliu Mustapha and his House of Representatives counterpart, Bello Kaoje, this action would be taken to deal with heads of agencies who fail to give an account of their 2024 budget performance and projections in the New Year.

The Committee which issued the warning yesterday in Abuja in the continuation of the defence of the 2025 budget estimates by Ministries, Department and Agencies, was not happy that despite the directive of President Bola Tinubu that all heads of agencies must appear before the National Assembly to defend their budget estimates, many of them still prefer to send their subordinates.

Members of the Committee yesterday expressed their anger when the Director General of the Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service, Vincent Isegbe who was listed to brief the committee of the performance of his agency in the 2024 budget and projections in 2025 did not show up for the exercise.

In his remarks, Senator Mustapha who told the representative of the Director General that there was no reason for the Chief Executive who is the accounting officer of the agency to be absent and directed that he appear on Monday, January 20, said “We are not going to attend to you. When the President came to present this budget, he made it clear that all heads of agencies must come to defend their estimates and should therefore call off any plan to travel. We are going to give him another time, but that may not be too convenient for him because we have a time frame to submit our report.

“We should all make this thing easy for ourselves. There is no need for us to drag what we don’t need to drag. Even if he is coming to make an excuse, he should have been here to say these are the people that will do this thing on my behalf.

“The President made it very clear that nobody should travel when he came to present the budget. Why is it now that your principal chose to travel? Tell him that we are available tomorrow.”

Earlier in his opening remarks, Senator Mustapha who noted that the projections by the World Food Programme that about 33.1m Nigerians will be hit by acute hunger in 2025 is a clear indication that food security is a task that must be accomplished, said “The projection by the World Food Programme that about 33.1m Nigerians will face food insecurity in 2025 is an indication that food crisis is what we cannot allow to happen and we collectively need to avert.

“Given the critical role that agriculture plays in ensuring food security, economic stability and rural development, it is important that adequate budgetary provisions be made to address the challenges the sector faces today.

“The combined effect of climate change, desertification and other environmental challenges put agricultural productivity under severe threat necessitating improved budgetary allocation to the sector”.

On his part, Kaoje who noted that food security forms one of the challenges facing the country today, leading to the president declaring a state of emergency on food security in 2024, said “Sometime last year, Mr President declared a state of emergency on food security. We have had a robust discussion with the Minister of Agriculture who enumerated a lot of challenges before us and we assured him that the two committees will do something to make sure that the budget is enhanced.

“We will do everything possible to ensure that where you have challenges, we can assist. We will put our heads together with the appropriation committee to make sure that the renewed hope agenda of the President is achieved in the area of food security.”

On his part, the Director General, National Agricultural Seed Council, Ishiak Khalid who told the committee that only a paltry percentage of the agency’s capital allocation in 2024 was released, said, “We had a very tough time in 2024. Only 9 per cent of our total 2024 capital allocation and over 90 per cent are still being withheld. This has made it very difficult to cope with our mandate because, without quality seeds, it is difficult to have good yields.”

Asked if the council can partner with development partners to meet some of its funding needs, the NASC boss said, “We have development partners but they don’t give us funding directly. What they do is that if they have a programme they want us to participate in, they send us flight ticket, book hotel accommodation and all that.”

On his part, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Agriculture Development Fund, Muhammed Ibrahim who lamented the agency’s lack of adequate manpower, more than a year after assuming office, said, “Unlike the Seed Council, we had zero release in our capital allocation in 2024. But that is not all. About 15 months after we assumed office, we are yet to have a salary scale. Most of our staff members are contracted while some are deployed from other agencies of government.”

At the end of the session, the Joint Committee assured that it would assist the agency not only to get an adequate allocation in the 2025 budget but also to help in the manpower gap to enable it to discharge its responsibility to the public.