As Nigeria leads again at AMMA

By Benjamin Njoku

PORT HARCOURT—Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State,has called on  African  movie actors, producers, creative writers and directors to serve as promoters of the state  as the investors destination   of Africa with attendant  economic  benefits.

Declaring open the 12th Africa Movie Academy Awards, AMAA,  in Port Harcourt,   weekend, Governor Wike  expressed happiness that  the array of mega-stars, Federal  Government officials,  international  journalists and businessmen have seen first hand that Rivers State was safe for investments, contrary to sponsored  media reports.

He said: “We have tackled insecurity with decisive steps in conjunction with the nation’s security agencies, so much so that Rivers State has now become one of the safest places to visit, live and do business in the country. As a result, we have been hosting several local and national events to the joy and applaud of the organisers, participants and visitors.

“For instance, three weeks ago, we successfully hosted the National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Nigeria’s current leading opposition party with delegates from the 36 States and other local and international observers. Today, we are hosting AMAA.

In the next couple of weeks we shall be hosting the national conferences of the Magistrates Association of Nigeria and the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA.  We have received several delegations from foreign missions in Nigeria and international organisations at bilateral and multilateral levels.

“All these show that our efforts to improve local security are yielding the desired results as Rivers State has, once again, resumed its position as a destination of choice to both local and foreign direct investment. Let me assure you that we are determined to leverage on this in our effort to place Rivers State on the tourism world.”

Despite losing two of the major awards of the night, Best Movie of the Year and Best Director awards to Burkina Faso and Ghana, Nigeria’s Nollywood weekend reaffirmed its solid place as Africa’s biggest film industry at this year’s African Movie Academy Awards,AMAA.

They country carted away  10 out of the 24 awards given out this year, beating South Africa, which won five awards and fast evolving  Burkina Faso film industry also won four awards. Ghana came fourth, clinching three awards; Best Director award, won by Nana Obiri-Tenoah for his film, “The Cursed One,”Best Cinematography and Best in Production Design in Africa

The glamorous awards night  held, weekend, at Dr Obi Wali International Conference Centre, Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

The  films that made the country proud at the awards night were Stephanie Linus-Okereke’s advocacy film, ” Dry” which won two awards, Rivers State Government award for Best Nigerian film and Zubaidat Ibrahim Fagge(Best Young/ Promising Actor award) for her role in “Dry”, Best First Feature Film by a Director, which went to Greg Odutayo for his film, “Beyond Blood.”