The Actors Guild of Nigeria has refuted assertions made by Stella Okafor, the ailing actor’s wife, claiming the guild has never supported the comic actor John Okafor nicknamed Mr. Ibu.
Ibu publicly requested help on Wednesday, October 18, as he battled an unspecified illness. After that, the guild was charged with deserting the actor who had made significant contributions to the film business.
The guild’s director of communications, Kate Henshaw, stated in a video broadcast on its Instagram page on Friday, October 20, that the organization has remained committed to helping its members in difficult circumstances, particularly with regard to health issues.
The statement in part said;
‘’We are compelled to make this public statement in reaction to the vituperations of some netizens over the health of one of our respected and esteemed members, John Okafor, popularly known as Mr Ibu. We are not here to join issues with anybody, but we want to set the records straight over the public outcry the guild and his colleagues have abandoned him at his point of need. The guild has never abandoned any of its members in need, especially with health interventions. We have been in the forefront of providing necessary support to mr Ibu even before his health conditions was ever made public.”
Shortly after the statement was released, Mr Ibu’s wife released a video denying claims that the agency has been there for her husband.
In the video, the distraught wife of the actor said;
‘’I am not happy at all. Look at the situation of things and look at how my husband is lying on the sick bed and AGN came out to be talking about what they did not do. How can they came online and be saying they are supporting my husband from beginning when they are have not done anything. I contacted Emeka Rollas. I sent him a message which he read and did not reply. The message is still there. I called him and he did not answer my call. I sent him and message and he did not reply me. So why did they come and be saying what they did not do? What kind of a thing is this? I have been suffering since, been in the hospital taking care of my husband and now they are coming out to say what they did not do. This is totally unfair.”
In response to her claim, Kate Henshaw stated that although the guild has supported the actor, his condition keeps recurring and he is supposed to take care of it on his own. She cited how the guild president Emeka Rollas had helped the actor in 2021 and how, in June 2022, the actor’s daughter Jasmine thanked him for being there for the ailing Okafor.
Kate claimed that there are bank records and other documentation to support assertions that the guild has supported Mr. Ibu. The guild, according to her, is neither a hospital nor a bank nor a philanthropic institution.
Watch the video she shared below:
