Daddy Steps In On Dee?s Age

Mentor II fans still struggling to come to terms with housemate Dee?s real age can take a sigh of relief as his father has emerged with details of the young man.

Due to his relatively "huge" physique, beard and height, Dee has had to endure taunts from the general public who have nick-named him "Dada Dee" or "Papa Dee" claiming that he is older than the 23 years he professes.

Apparently disturbed by rumours that his son had ?hacked? his age to get into the house, Rev. Justice Aboagye showed up and revealed to Graphic Showbiz that Dee is indeed 23 years old.

According to the clegyman who is Head Pastor at the Labadi branch of the Christ Apostolic Church, Darlington Odoi Aboagye, a.k.a Dee, is the first of five children and was born on February 8, 1983.

"Darlington inherited the structure of his mother whose family members are very tall and well built. In fact, my youngest son who is eight years old is the tallest in his class at Pentecost Preparatory School in Koforidua." he said.

The 51 year old father of Dee said he married his wife, Mrs. Hannah Aboagye, 46, in 1982 and they had Dee a year later.

Dee, who is a second year student of the Akropong Presbyterian Training College, is said to have deferred his course due to his desire to be part of the Mentor II reality show much to the displeasure of his father who thought he should make education his top priority.

"I live in Accra. The rest of the family live in Koforidua. I did not know what was going on until I heard that he had won the Eastern Regional audition together with Seth and Mike.

I had no choice than to support him because music might be his calling." Dee, a chorister at the International Central Gospel Church, is noted more for gospel than secular music.

Interestingly, he performed R. Kelly?s gospel piece, You Saved Me, which qualified him during the Eastern Regional audition of Mentor II.

His performance of that same song at last Sunday?s show attracted prolonged applause from the audience as well as good comments from the judges.

Dee?s voice sounded good for his choice of song and his stagecraft was as lively as usual. Judge Mark Okraku-Mantey said his performance justified his inclusion in the show which was more important than the controversy surrounding his age.

Last Sunday?s show, which was eviction-free, saw most of the contestants performing R&B and Pop songs. Kofi dared to be different with a highlife performance of Amakye Dede?s Dabi Dabi song.

Meanwhile, the competition is expected to get keener since Prince Henry Lamptey Jnr., who was evicted a fortnight ago, has been voted back into the house.

Prince expressed the view that his eviction was partly because his fans relaxed with the SMS voting. He said that he was set to work harder to win the Mentor crown and appealed to his fans to keep voting for him.