When on June 15, 2013, some Nollywood stakeholders, under the aegis of Nollywood Guild of Stars, went to Akwa Ibom to receive the cheque of N50 million earlier promised the industry stakeholders on March 2, 2013 by the state Governor, Godswill Akpabio, they must have had it at the back of their minds that the grant would cause ripples in the industry.
This is not the first time there would be brouhaha, when the issue of money is involved in the industry.
It will be recalled that President Jonathan visited Lagos on March 2, 2013 and hosted those in the motion picture in Nigeria to a dinner at the State House, Marina.
At the occasion, the President promised to support the industry with a sum of N3 billion, which later projected the country positively to the outside world. It was at the same event that Akpabio promised to give Nollywood N50 million to give awards in President Jonathan’s name.
However, months after getting the money from the governor, there has not been peace in the make-believe world in Nigeria. Different bodies in the industry have reportedly waged war against each other and have flexed muscles about how the money should be used and ‘shared’.
Some weeks ago, there were reports of how raucous occurred among movie practitioners over the largesse of the government.
However, one of the groups in Nollywood, the Association of Nollywood Core Producers, ANCOP, led by its President, Alex Eyengho, has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to investigate an alleged squandering of the N50 Million grant.
In a letter to the Commission dated August 19, 2013, and titled ‘THE SQUANDERING BY A CABAL OF THE 50 MILLION NAIRA GIVEN TO NOLLYWOOD BY THE GOVERNOR OF AKWA IBOM STATE, HIS EXCELLENCY, CHIEF GODSWILL AKPABIO: A Call to Save the Industry from Breakdown of Law and Order, ANCOP feared that there are effort by few individuals to embezzle the money.
ANCOP stated in the petition that the N50 million grant has “polarized the industry till today.” “Suspecting fraud, ANCOP immediately raised the red flag when it queried the use of a non-existent ‘Guild of Nollywood Stars’ to access the N50 million pledge, by those who visited Governor Akpabio.”
It was also stated that, “we also queried the locus of the visitors to make the trip to Akwa Ibom without consulting with or getting the mandate of stakeholders in Nollywood.
“Suffice to state here that those who visited Governor Akpabio represent only three (AMP, DGN and a faction of AGN) out of the over 30 associations and guilds in Nollywood. The mass media was awash with suspicion and protests from stakeholders in Nollywood.
“The suspicious silence of the visitors to Governor Akpabio and refusal to immediately convene a meeting of all associations, guilds and other stakeholders in Nollywood, after collecting the prototype cheque further heightened the already tensed atmosphere in the industry. ANCOP, on July 3, 2013 wrote a letter of inquiry via email on the matter to Mr. Zik Zulu Okafor and Mr. Andy Amenechi and copied other association/guild presidents in Nollywood. No official reply came back to ANCOP.”
The group informed that, “the visitors of Governor Akpabio suspected that their plan of using a non-existent ‘Guild of Nollywood Stars’ to access the N50 million from the good people of Akwa Ibom State had been exposed, quickly reached out to their contact in the Akwa Ibom State Government circle, pleaded that the cheque be re-issued in favour of Association of Movie Producers (AMP), which is one of the over 30 associations and guilds in Nollywood, or paid directly electronically into the same AMP’s bank account. As at today, the sum of N50 million has since settled comfortably in AMP’s account, courtesy of tax payers of Akwa Ibom State.
“Sir, this petition is to urge you to take immediate steps to halt this cabal from further decimating this goodwill cash from Governor Akpabio on behalf of the good people of Akwa Ibom State. This is a public fund that must be accounted for.
“The money is given for a particular purpose and not for sharing by or between associations and guilds. This cabal has perfected plans to use about N5 million to organize some funny awards in the name of President Jonathan or give same amount to select existing awards/festivals for the same purpose. The remaining N45 million would ultimately go into private pockets as it is the usual practice in the past.
“This must stop. Already, we reliably gathered that one of the four visitors to Governor Akpabio is demanding about N8 million as commission for being the contact person to the Governor!
“In fact, this cabal with fraudulent intent has held a ‘Berlin Conference’ over the Governor Akpabio grant. This nauseating situation is tearing Nollywood apart and may soon lead to a breakdown of law and other. ANCOP, as a responsible professional association in Nollywood, does not intend to be part of such hobbesian state of mankind in tackling this very delicate, but potentially explosive matter. We will no longer sit idly and allow a few selfish people use the brand Nollywood to access money from government or the corporate world for a specific purpose and end up using it for entirely different purposes. This has happened in the past, but enough is enough.”
Eyengho urged EFCC to “immediately commence a full-blown investigation into the alleged fraudulent acts over the N50 million Governor Akpabio gave to Nollywood to carry out a specific task but now domiciled in the account of one of the over 30 associations and guilds in Nollywood. AMP’s account should be immediately frozen until proper account of the money is rendered.
“If the money is still intact (we very much doubt), it should be immediately transferred to the ‘Project Act Nollywood’ for proper management to achieve the set objectives Governor Akpabio had in mind.”
He concluded that “anything short of this (investigation) is an invitation to anarchy in Nollywood.”
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