My administration would demand accountability, Emeka Ike assures actors

Abuja – The National President of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Mr Emeka Ike, has assured actors that his administration will restructure the guild through legal reforms and capacity building.

He gave the assurance on Sunday in an interview in Abuja. According to him, the image of the guild in the past has been abused by some individuals who want things done to suit their personal interests. “We are working with the focus to reforming the legal agenda of the guild,’’ he said. Ike also alleged that the AGN, as an association, had what he called “so much legal misalignment. “These were mistakes that the guild need to use the court to straighten out. Today, actors can be assured that the operations of the guild are in line with laid down regulations.’’ He claimed that his administration had achieved 90 per cent in that regard, insisting that his administration would demand accountability from any individual that sidetracked funds for the guild. According to him, that training and capacity building for members will facilitate the development of the guild. Ike also said that the welfare of members was paramount to the leadership of the guild. “We are talking to television stations to pay royalty to actors on every of their movies televised. “Presently we are putting everything in place to ensure Bank Verification Numbers for our artists and for those that don’t have it, we assist them. “This is for them to be on the statistics data base of the bank where their royalty can be paid and they will get their pay anywhere they are,’’ Ike said. He observed that it was not right for actors to roam the streets of the country’s major cities seeking for means of survival. He, therefore, called on the Minister for Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, relevant stakeholders and the public to support Nigerian actors.