AGN leadership tussle: Steve Eboh blasts Ibinabo and Emeka Ike

’You people have lost your relevance in the Guild’

*Appoints firm to audit AGN accounts

Recently, the National Secretary of the Actors Guild of Nigera, AGN, under Ibinabo Fiberesima’s leadership, Abubakar Yakub disowned the newly established caretaker committee by a group better known as AGN stakeholders to restore peace and stability in the troubled guild, insisting that Ibinabo remains the incumbent president.

Yakub among other things claimed that the National Executive Committee of AGN was not carried along by the stakeholders while setting up the said caretaker committee.

But debunking Yakub’s claims, chairman of the Caretaker committee, Mr Steve Eboh revealed that all the warring factions in the guild were properly informed about the stakeholders’ meeting and its resolutions.

He declared that the committee has come to restore the lost glory of the guild and that nobody can stop it.

“The emergence of this committee is the best thing to happen to AGN because its mandate is just to resuscitate AGN and conduct elections,” he said.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with HVP, Eboh said, “I don’t know why Ibinabo and Emeka Ike are afraid of the Caretaker Committee. The essence of the caretaker committee is to reconcile warring factions of the guild, stay in power for some time, conduct fresh elections and ensure that the guild moves forward again. And some people are not happy with the development. 

Some of them have lost their relevance in the guild. They want to remain in power, meaning that there is something they are not telling us. If this caretaker committee was set up by either Ibinabo, Emeka Ike or BoT, they wouldn’t be kicking against it.

“But because it’s set up by the stakeholders, they don’t want to identify with the caretaker committee. Before now, they have been calling me names. The court sacked Ibinabo, and Emeka Ike has never been the president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria. Now, he’s laying claims to the presidency of the guild. Emeka Ike has not been able to tell us who voted him as the president of AGN.”

“The same goes to Ibinabo, who is yet to tell us what legal mandate she has over AGN now. The court has nullified her election as the president of the guild, and she has appealed against the judgment. Legally, does it make her relevant? No. Section 4 of the judgment instructed Ibinabo to hand over the guild to the stakeholders. And the stakeholders have come together to take over their guild. They set up a caretaker committee and mandated the committee to reconcile warring factions as well as conduct fresh election.

“They are kicking against the move. I want to ask them, what do they really want? They don’t want a united Actors Guild of Nigeria. Rather, they want the division to continue so they can continue to gain. That’s selfish interest and we wouldn’t condone it. The caretaker committee must work according to the mandate given to us.” No matter what anybody says, we are working to achieve unity and progress in AGN. It’s a task that must be carried out and fulfilled whether they like it or not. We are ready for them now.

On caretaker committee’s mandate

“We are very much prepared to achieve the caretakers mandate because we have the legal backing, and we also have the members’ backing. That’s the strength of the caretaker committee. What we have done is in accordance with the court ruling.

 Both Ibinabo and Emeka Ike have no legal backing. But we wanted peace but they say they want to fight us. Whatever they want now, we are ready to give it to them. But AGN must move forward. Both Ibinabo and Emeka Ike were not there when the guild was formed. I have been there from the beginning. Enough is enough. If it is money, they have made enough money. If it is name, they have made enough name. Yes, thank you very much, but please allow us to move forward.

On reaching out to the warring factions

“Of course, we have reached out to everybody we are supposed to have reached. In one of the publications, Abubakar Yakub claimed that he did not know anything about the stakeholders’ meeting. He was properly informed as well as the Board of Trustee of the guild. Emeka Ike also knew about the meeting. Even after the formation of the committee, I have been talking with them. I have talked to some people in Ibinabo’s camp, I have also talked to some people in Emeka Ike’s camp as well as the BOT, and they all assured me that they would work with us. We have been begging them to give peace a chance. But they are taking our leniency for granted and we are ready for any eventuality now.

Resuscitating AGN

“Meanwhile the committee which arose from its first meeting, recently held in Surulere, Lagos, appointed an audit firm, Vincent Anwi and Company, to audit all accounts of AGN in line with section seven of the judgement as delivered by Justice J.T .Tsoho on 16th of march 2016.

“The audit will be extended to all the state chapters as well and that is why some state chapter chairmen are ganging up against the committee. They have never accounted to anybody. We want to let them know that it’s no longer business as usual. The time of sharing campaign money is over.

“We have equally reached out to St Maradonna Johnson for a possible truce. This is because Emeka Ike is not in the picture at all. When we are done with resuscitating the Guild we will then put Emeka Ike where he belongs.

The committee wants to put the records straight: The emergence of this committee is the best thing to happen to AGN because its mandate is just to resuscitate AGN and conduct elections. Anybody who wants to cast aspersions on the committee should first of all lay hands on the copy of the judgement read, digest it, and if possible, get a sound lawyer to interpret it. We are not here to thread words with anybody or to fight anybody but to keep peace in AGN and avoid any party from holding AGN to ransom. 

It will be contempt of court for AGN Chairmen under Ibinabo Fiberesima to hold any meeting in Calabar as presently rumoured. The National Caretaker committee has come to stay. We would also not hesitate to work within the ambit of the law to stop any gathering under the guise of Chairmen meeting anywhere. We have copies of the judgement and copies of ruling on the stay of execution as filed by Ibinabo’s lawyer.”

Vanguard