After the court verdict, National Secretary of the Emeka Ike-led AGN, Femi Durojaiye issued a statement, urging Ibinabo who is currently incarcerated to obey a court order by relinquishing her position as president to the actor, Emeke Ike.
According to Femi Durojaiye, the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, on Wednesday, March 23, ruled that Emeka Ike should take over from Fiberesima as the new president. “The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, this morning 23/3/2016 at the application and argument of Counsel to Actors Guild of Nigeria, Barrister Peter Andor Oboyi, struck out Ibinabo’s and BOT suit challenging the nullification of her election to the presidency of AGN and also challenging the legitimacy of the presidency of Emeka Ike and his Exco.”
“The implication of this judgement is that Emeka Ike led Exco remains the only authentic and lawful leadership of Actors Guild of Nigeria.”
But reacting to the statement, the Ibinabo-led AGN, Secretariat General, Mr. Abubakar Yakubu refuted the claim, describing it as “a misinterpretation of justice capable of causing chaos in our noble Guild.” While admitting that the court has dismissed Ibinabo’s application for stay of execution in the judgment of a case between St. Maradona and the Guild which was delivered last year, Yakubu advised AGN members to remain calm, adding that “the process is still ongoing.”
He said, the ruling has nothing to do with Emeka Ike and his executive. “It’s a complete misinformation and distortion of facts, borne out of desperation to cause confusion in the Guild. There is an appeal on the same judgement pending at the appeal court, we equally have up to 30days to file another motion for the stay of execution as granted by the Federal high court. Our application was not dismissed for lack of merit but as a result of some mistakes in judicial process,” Yakubu explained.
Meanwhile, Emeka Ike, during the week, met with his new AGN executive somewhere in Surulere, where they took certain decisions geared towards kick-start a new Actors Guild of Nigeria. Although the outcome of the meeting was yet to be disclosed, Emeka Ike, however, confided in HVP that the new leadership of the guild is planning to build a befitting film city for the industry among other laudable projects in the offing. He also hinted that they would soon take over the guild’s National Secretariat as directed by the court.
“Then we will call our congress to kick-start the new day.” Emeka Ike and Ibinabo had been embroiled in legal tussle over who should occupy the position of the president of the AGN for several years now.
