Emeka Rollas, AGN National President
- Save Stanley Okoronkwo committee to tender an unreserved apology to the AGN Foundation
Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) has reacted to a statement by the Save Stanley Okoronkwo Committee on the Senator Bukola Saraki’s donation to the Actors Guild Foundation for ailing actors.
In a statement made available to the press by the Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Actors Guild President, Mr. Ejezie Emeka Rollas, High Chief Mcsmith Ochendo(Nwakanwa) said the statement is necessary to clarify some issues as to the disbursement of the fund especially in respect of the case of Stanley Okoronkwo.
“Our attention has been drawn to a media statement from Save Stanley Okoronkwo Committee in respect of the AGN Foundation’s support to Stanley Okoronkwo from Senator Bukola Saraki’s donation to ailing actors who are members of the Actors Guild of Nigeria.
Ordinarily we wouldn’t have dignified the media report with a response but because it came from an esteemed practitioner and friend of the Actors Guild.
As the name connotes, AGN Foundation is a fund raising arm of the Actors Guild of Nigeria saddled with the responsibility of supporting ailing and elderly members of the Guild who are incapacitated and unable to make income.
The Foundation has a management committee under the Chairmanship of our former National President and veteran Actor, Segun Arinze.
The Foundation’s Management Committee reviews and makes recommendations for support to ailing members that require huge financial support based on examination of their medical and Doctors’ reports.
Stanley Okonkwo requested funds to buy drugs and the National President referred his matter to the committee who after the review recommended N30,000 as a friend of the Guild and veteran practitioner from Dr. Saraki’s fund to enable him purchase his drugs. What he requested was just N10,000 (Ten Thousand Naira).
“It is worthy of note that the donation from Senator Dr. Bukola Saraki is not for the entire Nollywood as stated by his committee.
Various Guilds and Associations in Nollywood have devised ways of raising funds to support their ailing members just as Stanley Okoronkwo equally has a committee to raise funds to take care of his ailing health.
The disbursement of the AGN Foundation’s funds to our ailing members is currently on a temporal basis to ameliorate the immediate suffering of our members who are in critical conditions.
The AGN foundation was established with a proviso that only members whose cases require above N5million naira would be recommended for assistance. But since the official launch of the foundation will take place in May 2019, Mr. President approved temporal relief for few members just to give them succor pending when the Guild would be able to offer elaborate relief.
If Stanley Okoronkwo is not satisfied with our magnanimity, the best he could have done was to refund the N30,000 given to him to purchase his drugs rather than resorting to press war.
The committee publishes the statement of account of the funds and list of beneficiaries from time to time to show transparency in handling the funds.
“AGN Foundation is not Stanley Okoronkwo’s fund raising committee and we did not collect N5million naira from Dr Bukola Saraki on behalf of Stanley Okoronkwo.
As the largest Guild in Nollywood with the highest number of members spread accross the 36 states of Nigeria including Abuja, we require over half a billion naira to take care of our members with health challenges.
We implore the Save Stanley Okoronkwo committee to tender an unreserved apology to the AGN Foundation for the embarrassment and the defamation of character.”
Signed: High chief Mcsmith Ochendo (Nwakanwa) Senior special adviser to the president on media and publicity.
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