By Isaac Olamikan/Benin
Osagie Elegbe
Reactions have continued to trail the exclusive story of the internal crisis that is rocking the Edo State Chapter of the Actors
Guild of Nigeria (AGN), reported last week on this page last Sunday.
Friends of the suspended chairman of the body, Osagie Elegbe, were openly bitter about the impression given in the story that he (Elegbe) was suspended by Henry Legemah.
According to them, “It’s a very erroneous impression to say that Legemah suspended Elegbe. He does not have the power to do such. The suspension order actually came from the National President of the Guild, Ibinabo Fiberesima.
“What Legemah did was that he played on the fact that the national president has an issue to settle with Elegbe which dates back to the period of the burial of Sam Loco Efe in Benin. He (Legemah) capitalised on this to try and settle old scores with Elegbe.
“To achieve his intention, he fed Fiberesima with false tales of how the Guild’s funds were looted by Elegbe. He sent his petition to the national president without even following the process of getting an endorsement of the petition by any of the Guild members,” our source disclosed.
“It was this petition that the national president of the Guild based her action of suspending Elegbe on. Is it not funny that one of the allegations against Elegbe is that he misappropriated over N600, 000.00 belonging to the association? If Legemah thinks he can settle personal scores through unfounded allegations the court shall determine.”
Asked why Elegbe has issues with Legemah and Fiberesima at the same time, our source replied, “It is because he is a man who does not compromise on doing things the proper way. Now, that Legemah has decided to create an issue out of nothing where has it led the Guild in the state. As we speak now, a lot of projects are ongoing but Edo
State is not benefiting because of the crisis. Please, help us appeal to the national president that we are suffering here. Nothing is happening. All activities of the body are at a standstill in the state.”
Legemah in his reaction denied that the activities of the body have been on a standstill for many months now.
“Don’t listen to the alarmists who say that nothing has been happening in the Guild in the state. We are taking the body to the next level,” he said.
Even as the majority of the members of the Guild in Edo State cry of going through the pangs of hunger as fallout of the crisis, the case is yet to be determined at the court where it was taken to for arbitration.