Star actress Stephanie Okereke Linus-Idahosa as well as other top Nollywood stakeholders are now in the eyes of the storm as they are being kept under watch by the Economic and Financial Commissions, EFCC, after a break-away producers group in the Nigerian movie industry known as the Association of Nollywood Core Producers, ANCOP, petitioned the anti-graft body over a N50 million largesse donated by Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State to support the industry. The association is alleging massive fraud in the disbursement of the fund and petitioned the EFCC and the Special Fraud Unit, SFU, to investigate the likes of Stephanie Okereke, National President of the Association of Movie Producers, Zik Zulu Okafor, the National President of the Directors Guild of Nigeria, DGN, Andy Amenechi and the Secretary General of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, AGN, Yakubu Abubakar, for collecting and pocketing the funds without the consent of the industry’s stakeholders. In the petition signed by ANCOP, “The Governor presented Stephanie and the others a prototype post-dated Zenith Bank cheque number 00063639 with Akwa Ibom State Government as the account name, issued in favour of Guild of Nollywood Stars. We also gathered that the Governor, in his usual generosity, gave each of the visitors N500, 000 cash. Expectedly, the massive publicity given to the entire episode by the press generated heated debates. In fact, it polarized the industry till today. We are demanding that you immediately commence a full-blown investigation into the alleged fraudulent act 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.” Hmmmm, this is getting interesting.
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