A veteran actor, Emeka Ike, has claimed that “a few people” diverted the N3 billion grant by former President Jonathan, meant for the revitalisation of the Nigerian movie industry, for their own personal use.

Ike made the claim while speaking in an interview published by Premium Times on Saturday.

Back in 2013, Jonathan had announced the grant, with the target of improving the quality of Nollywood’s contents, which continued receiving heavy criticism despite the growth in production and sales.

But Ike has now tied the mismanagement of the fund to the way it was distributed, saying it would have been better managed if the government had collaborated with Nollywood associations such as the Theatre Arts Practitioners Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN) and the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN).

“When the fund was introduced, people were not united, and no bylaws were in place,” he said.

“As a result, the money ended up in the hands of a few, who used it to buy cars, build homes in Lekki, and drive their Range Rovers. That was not the purpose of the fund.”

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In a separate 2019 report by The Punch, some actors such as the late John Okafor, Fausat Balogun and Saidi Balogun had lamented that they did not benefit from the fund, as they did not know how to access it.

Similarly, veteran actress Fausat Balogun said she did not know anything about the management of the grant.

“I did not benefit from the fund. I didn’t know how to apply and explore the process,” she said. “We were not properly enlightened about it. They never showed us the way. If the process was well handled, people like us should have been part of it.”

However, Dele Odule said that the some members of the AGN benefitted from the money.

“It wasn’t as if the AGN was given the money, but their members were huge beneficiaries,” Odule had said. “Some of them built houses in Surulere, Lagos, from the proceeds of that fund. I know them but I wouldn’t mention names.”
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