Nigerian music executive Paulo Okoye, popularly known as PaulO, has penned a heartfelt birthday tribute to actress Iyabo Ojo as she marks her 48th birthday.

Taking to his Instagram page, PaulO celebrated the Nollywood star with warm words of admiration, describing her as his Queen Mother and Ezenwanyi, while praising her strength, beauty, resilience, and compassion.

“Today we celebrate you, my Queen Mother — your life, your strength, your beauty, and everything that makes you who you are,” he wrote.

Reflecting on the past year, PaulO acknowledged that 2025 was a challenging period for Iyabo, even though it also came with numerous blessings. According to him, the year was filled with joyful moments such as weddings, children and grandchildren, graduations, movie premieres, red-carpet appearances, awards, and overwhelming love.

However, he noted that the year also brought difficult moments — unexpected trials, intense battles, and people who attempted to use her name and fame for attention or to bring her down.

“Life also has a way of throwing wahala — the tough moments, the unexpected tests, and people trying to tear you down using your name. But through it all, you smiled and handled everything with grace,” he added.

PaulO commended Iyabo for remaining strong despite the challenges, praising her ability to rise above adversity while maintaining dignity — and, as he humorously noted, serving “hot pepper” to anyone who came looking for trouble.

The post quickly drew reactions from fans and colleagues, who flooded the comment section with birthday wishes for Iyabo and applauded PaulO for openly standing by her.

Recall that Iyabo Ojo and PaulO made their relationship public in 2022 during her 45th birthday celebration, when she shared a video collage highlighting special moments between them.