Salawa Abeni answers Kollington’s ‘she is still my wife’ claim

Veteran singer Salawa Abeni has responded to Kollington Ayinla’s controversial declaration that she remains his wife despite the collapse of their marriage more than three decades ago.

The Fuji musician stirred controversy in 2025 when he claimed that Salawa still belonged to him and described whoever she was currently with as only having her temporarily.

Addressing the failed marriage in an interview on Oyinmomo TV, Salawa rejected suggestions that she abandoned the union because of pride or stubbornness.

“I did not move out of my marriage. It was not pride or stubbornness,” she said.

The 65-year-old singer stressed that she had three children for Kollington and had made efforts to preserve their home.

She added that her mother never had two husbands, suggesting that walking away from marriage was not something she had taken lightly.

Salawa said the circumstances surrounding the breakup were reflected in an album she released after the marriage collapsed.

According to her, she used the project to document what she experienced during the troubled period.

When asked whether her marriage to Kollington contributed to the growth of her music career, the singer declined to provide a direct answer but expressed appreciation to fans concerned about her life.

Salawa maintained that the failure of a marriage should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of bad character.

She described marriage and its outcome as matters of destiny, adding that she had never claimed to be perfect in relationships.

Salawa married Kollington after her first marriage to Lateef Adepoju, founder of Leader Records, ended. Her union with the Fuji icon collapsed in 1994.

In 2024, she publicly introduced Rasheed Adahunse as her third husband.

Salawa began her music career in the 1970s and released her debut album, “Late General Murtala Ramat Mohammed,” in 1976.