Thursday, 28th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search
Breaking News:

Senator Abbo’s AGN appointment saga won’t go away

Although the leadership of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) had a good reason for suspending stakeholders meeting is called to resolve the issue of the appointment of Senator Elisha Abbo as its patron

Although the leadership of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) had a good reason for suspending stakeholders meeting is called to resolve the issue of the appointment of Senator Elisha Abbo as its patron, some stakeholders have called on the embattled leadership not to hide under the present COVID-19 induced lockdown to sweep the controversial installation of Abbo under the carpet.

There have been more condemnations of the decision to install the senator representing Adamawa North senatorial zone as Patron, the most recent coming from veteran entertainment journalist and publisher, Femi Akintunde Johnson, who is popular as FAJ, and the elite film group, the Ibadan Film Circle (IFC), who said Abbo’s “trial for assaulting a nursing mother and his penchant for engaging in gender-based violence” does not qualify him for the recognition.

FAJ, in an open letter to the Guild’s leadership, condemned the decision to appoint Abbo, advising it to do the needful by retracing “from what is, all too clear, a stroll into ignominy.”

IFC, in a statement signed by its Administrator, Ropo Ewenla, described the decision as “grossly insensitive and immoral,” adding: “We believe that there are many upright and emotionally stable members of society who can be found fit for this revered position.

“It is an affront of decency for a senator, a woman beater, to now strut as patron of AGN, a body of artistes who are role models and by recognition of this fact, brand ambassadors to some corporate institutions and development agencies.”

IFC called on the National Executive Council of the Guild to rescind what it described as “ill-thought decision that stands only to tarnish the good name that the Guild has built over the years.”

The leadership of the AGN appointed Abbo as Patron on March 11, this year, but the decision was immediately greeted by widespread condemnation by stakeholders, including two prominent female actors- Hilda Dokubo and Kate Henshaw.

0 Comments