Nollywood Affairs | 16 October 2010 03:54 CET

Ikejimba tackles Nollywood coalition’s boss

By Ayo Onikoyi
Chris Ikejimba

Chris Ikejimba

For alleging that members of the Association of Core Nollywood Producers(ANCOP) are responsible for the unending crisis that have bedeviled the Nigerian motion picture industry in recent times, Chairman, Coalition of Nollywood Guilds and Association(CONGA), Mr. Bon Emeruwa has earned the ire of some members of that association.

In a recent interview with us, Mr Emeruwa pointed accusing fingers at the members of ANCOP, alleging that since the formation of that association, the industry has been witnessing constant crisis.

But reacting to Emeruwa's outburst, few week after that allegation was levelled against the association, Mr Chris Ikejimba, a pioneer film maker and member of the Broad of Trustees(BoT) of ANCOP, described Emeruwa's utterances as “misguided and irresponsible.” He accused Emeruwa of over-reacting, adding that as the chairman of the so called coalition, Emeruwa should have watched his words.

“Bon Emeruwa is a good friend of mine. I think he over-reacted, given his position as the chairman of the so called coalition. We still maintain our stand that CONGA does not represent the interest of the entire Nollywood practitioners. We wrote to the Federal Ministry of Information and Communication , and the regulatory bodies, stating the obvious. To allege that ANCOP is responsible for the unending problem is an overstatement.”

“CONGA is made of a group of unregistered associations in Nollywood. Except the Actors Guild of Nigeria(AGN), no other group under the coalition is registered with the Corporate Affairs commission. Directors Guild of Nigeria which Emeruwa himself is also the president is not a registered association. ANCOP is a national association that has national spread.” Ikejimba fumed.

CONGA, he said, is for those associations that subscribed to its vision, adding ANCOP members do not subscribed to the coalition.

Ikejimba, hitting hard on Emeruwa further alleged that the coalition is championed by those who wants to use the platform to advance their personal interests.

Contrary to Emeruwa's allegation that ANCOP is responsible for the lingering crisis in Nollywood,

Ikejimba who claimed to be the brain behind the formation of the Association of Movie Producers(AMP) in the early 90s said, “I'm not aware of any crisis in Nollywood. Rather the only thing I'm aware of, is the silent revolution that is taking place in the industry.”

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