Nigerians may soon witness chaos in Nollywood and other groups comprising the country’s entertainment industry if nothing is urgently done to stop the internal wrangling in the film industry over the recent N3bn Federal Government grant to the entertainment industry.
President Goodluck Jonathan had some time ago announced the inauguration of Project Nollywood, a programme worth N3bn, to assist the movie industry and improve its viability.
He had claimed that the grant was part of moves by his administration to uplift the industry to become a major player in the revenue generation of the country, saying that he requested the NEXIM Bank and the Bank of Industry to give Nollywood more access loans.
But Huhuonline.com can reveal that the grant is already tearing the stakeholders in the movie industry apart, as they are currently at daggers-drawn accusing one another of plans to make the fund unavailable to those who need it.
They believe that members of a cabal within the industry have perfected plans to share the grant among one another, leaving out others. Though no name has been officially mentioned, it was learnt that one of the top actresses fingered in the plot is Stephanie Okereke, who has denied the allegation and threatened to sue anyone who making unsubstantiated allegations against her.
With the recent announcement that the grant is now available, it was learnt that some top members of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) met in Abuja last week, where they were said to have decided on the sharing formula — an agreement aimed at fighting those allegedly prepared to take control of the fund.
National Chairman of the guild, Agility Onwurah and Secretary, Samuel Onibiyo, have raised alarm, accusing top stakeholders in Nollywood of plans to divert the grant. According to Onwurah, some known movie producers are already making moves to divert the grant for their own use while leaving out upcoming artists.
He further alleged that while practitioners suffered lack of funds and humiliation in the quest of producing films, some people were working to ensure that the guild remained static. He disclosed that the chairmen had resolved that the grant be used on production and distribution of movies and not personal use as was being plotted.
He further disclosed that the guild had visited the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) to complain of clandestine moves by the reputable producers to greedily divert the fund, adding that the NFVCB had given its assurance to help resolve the crisis.
Corroborating Onwurah’s claim, Onibiyo said the fund had become the target of some star actors who wanted investment in their personal businesses. He pleaded against poor monitoring of the grant, saying it would enrich some of these star actors at the expense of several other stakeholders in the industry.
Denying the allegation against her, Stephanie Okereke said they were baseless, since the grant was broken into three stages: production, distribution and training. She asked the guild to make findings from Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for the modalities that were agreed upon. While pleading for unity and calm, she revealed that some people within the industry had even written to the minister to say the grant is no longer needed.
