The national leadership of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), under the presidency of Mr. Ejike Asiegbu, has called on the Lagos State Government to temper justice with mercy over the five-year imprisonment slammed on top actress and former beauty queen, Ibinabo Fiberesima.
In a passionate plea to the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), and the deceased family, Mr. Asiegbu, who spoke on behalf of Nigerian actors and entertainers, pleaded that the embattled actress should be forgiven. He further argued that sending her to jail for five years or more, would never bring Dr. Giwa, the deceased, back to life.
He further promised that as soon the crisis is over, AGN would partner Miss Fiberesima in setting up a foundation for the deceased, who was knocked down on February 26, 2006.
Pic-Asiegbu, AGN President
Mr. Asiegbu, also painfully recounted how a driver mistakenly killed his dear mother some years ago. “They pleaded and we allowed the man to go, because if we had sent the victim to jail, that would not bring back our loving mother. Till date, we are still mourning the sad exit of our mother. Please, Ibinabo, who is a mother of three, should be forgiven, it was a mistake that could have happened to anybody”.
Meanwhile, a Solidarity Rally, which would simultaneously take place on Monday, in all the State chapters of the guild, is being planned for the actress by AGN. The Lagos Chapter would march from Surulere to Alausa, Ikeja, where they are expected to meet with Gov. Fashola, to further plead on her case.
Vivian Ejike hits location again
Few weeks after the nation-wide release of her latest movie, When The Heart Lies, leading female film producer, Vivian Ejike, has hit locations again for another big budget movie.
Impeccable information at our disposal has it that unlike When the Heart Lies, where Omotola Jalade – Ekeinde played lead, the new flick, which is yet-to-be-titled was powered by Genevieve Nnaji alongside other top acts.
With lensing almost coming to an end, pretty Ejike, however promised that the movie would definitely hit shelves before the end of the year, amid razzmatazz and plenty hype.
Speaking on the movie and why she rushed back to set, the ex top banker hinted that it was in the best interest of Nollywood and her undying passion for quality filmmaking.
Commenting further, the Co-CEO of Nollywood Distributions Limited, maintained that the new movie would also be premiered nationally and international before being released. “As we speak, my crew and I are already rounding off production in some choice locations within Lagos metropolis. We had fun on set and worked like a true family. By the time this new movie hit shelves, the world will begin to appreciate us better, for doing quality movies. It is another heart-wrenching story from Purple Pine Production,” she maintained.
Asu Ekiye unveils new videos
The “militants infested city of Port-Harcourt, capital of Rivers State, literally stood still over the weekend for gospel singer, Asu Ekiye, during the launch of his new videos.
Ekiye and his De Nu Dimension band members for the first time unveiled their new musical works entitled: Na God! Back to Base 3, amid glitz and grandeur.
Financed and produced by Mr. Anayo Odobeatu, the honcho of O’Jez Music and packaged by Iyke Harrison, the 11-tracker videos are already on shelves, and airing on both national and international stations.
Elated Ekiye, now dubbed the new prince of Niger Delta, while speaking at the crowded event, thanked immensely, all those that had in one way or the other contributed to the success and growth of his career.
Also included in the well-shot videos was Ekiye’s live performance in London, during his last tour.
Currently on O’jez Music, who are also marketing the new VCD and DVD, Ekiye, who shuttles between Lagos and the Niger Delta, is optimistic that the new videos would further help reposition his thriving career.
Speaking shortly after the ceremony, Mr. Banji Adelana, the Marketing Manager of Ojez Music, who was full of praises to the artiste, promised to give the work a good push within and outside Nigeria.
KOK back to school, opens new office
Top actor and one of the leading names in Nollywood Kanayo .O. Kanayo, unknown to many of his teeming fans, has quietly gone back to the classrooms, to further enrich himself and gather more knowledge for the challenges ahead.
Gathered reliably that the former best actor in African, courtesy of AMAA, has gone back to his Alma Mater, the University of Lagos, for a postgraduate degree in Political Science.
And since going back to the classrooms, the celebrated thespian has been busy burning the midnight candles, in preparation for his forthcoming exams.
In a related development, the Imo State born role interpreter recently thrown open his new corporate office, for businesses and consultations.
Situated in the heart of Surulere, Lagos, the new edifice is decorated with several awards won by the star in the course of his over two decades career.
According to KOK, the new office, which houses Yobafa Ventures, his corporate outfit will also be packaging both national and international productions, for a networked clientele.
Meanwhile, Kanayo has been missing in some “arty” places since going back to the classrooms.
An insider later squealed to us that by going back to school for his Masters, Kanayo, is strategically repositioning himself for Imo and national politics.
Multi Choice thrills with Let’s Dance
Though “Let’s Dance” from Multi Choice Nigeria has been airing for a while, but the recently held Sunday, March 15 session on DStv, spoke volumes about the untapped culture of dance in Nigeria. It all started with Tana Adelana, the delectable hostess of the reality show, announcing to the audience that the show had entered its most competitive stage with the fate of the remaining 12 contesting couples absolutely left in the hands of the viewers. The icing on the cake was the adoption of cute names by the surviving couples: Xtreem, Gold, Elect, Imagin, Nova, Apex, Ideal, ExWhy, Light, Enigma, Style and Vibes. Painfully too, beginning from March 22, the least voted couples were also eliminated from the show.
While speaking on the show, Adelana urged viewers to watch closely and identify the couples with their stage names and cast their votes accordingly. Voting, according to her, would begin by 8.00pm on Sunday and will end by Thursday midnight. Viewers can vote by texting the stage name of their favourite dancing couples to 32355 or via the Internet at www.mnetafrica.com. The last dancing couple standing will be crowned Nigeria’s “Let’s Dance” dynamic dancing duo. The first couple wins a whooping US$50,000; first runner-up, US$20,000; and the second runner-up, US$10,000.
Bayelsa beefs up security for AMAA
Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Timipre Sylva has assured all and sundry that adequate security measures have been put in place to protect lives and property ahead of the forthcoming AMAA awards in the state on April 4, 2009.
The governor who noted that the awards has attracted tourists and showbiz celebrities to the state in the last four years, added that the state is investing to improve the infrastructure and further support the growth of tourism.
Elaborating more on the security issue, which has been the main concern of many on the coming AMAA, the governor assured that there will be no threat to security as Bayelsans are good and hospitable people.
''We want to say that there is no bad security situation that will make our state unsafe to visitors during the AMAA awards. Apart from last year, which held in Abuja-though hosted by the state, the three previous editions have taken place in Bayelsa without any security problem.
'The security agencies are working round to ensure good security coverage for the event. The truth is the state is at peace and there has not been any reported case of kidnap and militancy. We are working to put people at work through our capital projects and turn the state economy around,” the governor explained.
Also speaking, the state’s Director General in charge of Tourism, Mr. Nathan Egba maintained that AMAA has helped in projecting the image of the state to international communities with numbers of foreign guests and artistes that have been attending awards with its attendant global media coverage.
He added that the state’s involvement with AMAA was to let the world know that the negative perception associated with militancy has not been as bad as it has been reported most especially by the Western media.
'We are ready to host the world again this year and all arrangements have been put in place to deal with all logistics issues that have been identified in the past with the view of improving on them,' he said.
Meanwhile, United Bank for Africa has said that its sponsorship of the African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), is a demonstration of its commitment to promoting the arts and entertainment industry.
The bank noted that the award, which has been embraced across Africa going by amount of entries for this year’s edition from all parts of the continent, is designed to promote creative excellence among filmmakers.
UBA has been a title sponsor of the awards for the second year running, having believed that the continent really needs a credible platform to reward and recognize practitioners within the movie industry who use their works to propagate African culture.
According to the bank, it has become imperative for corporate organizations to partner with the entertainment industry through sponsorships and projects funding as the sector is currently contributing significantly to the economy of Africa.
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