Northern actors in Nigeria have threatened to secede if Senator Elisha Abbo is removed as a patron of the Actors’ Guild of Nigeria.
This is coming after some actresses in the country led an online protest to demand that the senator be removed from the guild’s patrons list.
Recall that the Adamawa-born lawmaker’s enlistment as a patron of the group has led to controversies in the last few days.
This outcry by some actress led the Chairman of the Adamawa state chapter of the AGN Jimi Lot to react. He said that if Abbo was removed the northern actors’ group would pull out from the association. Further he stressed that Abbo was appointed as a patron of the group because of his philanthropic acts.
Jimi Lot who spoke to Daily Post said Abbo had apologised; and shouldn’t have to leave with the tag of being a woman-beater. He added that the senator does not deserve to be removed by the AGN. Furthermore, he threatened that northern actors will dump the AGN and form their own group. According to him, Abbo is not guilty of assault until proven so by the court.
Jimi Lot’s statement
“Even Jesus forgives so why wouldn’t Nigerians accept Senator Abbo’s apologies and forgive him over the assault.
“The guild is not going to withdraw the appointment. We the northern actors will not agree on this. And will not take this if the guild tries to do otherwise.
“If they attempt to do that, we are going to secede. The northern actors will break up from the guild and form our own in the North. Since our choice cannot be respected.”
Moreover Emeka Rollas, president of the Actors’ Guild of Nigeria has defended Senator Elisha Abbo‘s appointment as a patron of the guild. ‘Who is holier than Senator Abbo,’ he says, adding that the senator was not convicted of any crime.