By Tofarati Ige
Few days after Justice James Tsoho of the Federal High Court, Lagos nullified the election of the firBy st female president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Ibinabo Fiberesima, she has stormed the Court of Appeal, Lagos to challenge the said ruling.
The Rivers State-born thespian who hosted President Goodluck Jonathan to an all-star interactive session on Sunday, March 15, 2015, has ordered her lawyers to file an appeal against the judgment.
According to the National Secretary of the AGN, Abubakar Sanusi Yakub, “Ibinabo is challenging the judgment since she believes that the judge did not fully understand the case before making his judgment. That case has been back-dated twice since 2011. There is no validation in the case and the judgment. Moreover, she has nothing in common with Emeka Ike and his proxies. She did not contest any election with him. So how could he have the right to challenge her election?”
In a swift reaction to the purported sack of its president, the AGN and its Board of Trustees proclaimed that there is no vacancy in its leadership, thus, Ibinabo’s presidency remains sacrosanct.
A press statement issued by the AGN reads in part, “while we shall abide by the judgment of the High Court, we shall be guided by the Constitution of the Guild which stipulates that there shall be no vacuum in the leadership of the Guild.
“In view of this, Ibinabo Fiberesima remains the National leader of the AGN as the court did not declare Emeka Ike president of the guild.
“Even as the Registered Board of Trustees have gone to the Appeal Court to challenge the ruling, Ibinabo Fiberesima urges her members, supporters, and teaming fans to remain calm and peaceful as AGN remains one family. This judgment has not in any ways affected the resolve of Chief Ibinabo to take the Guild to the next level.”
