By Benjamin Njoku

Piqued by the spate of life-threatening ailments and sudden deaths that have engulfed the Nigerian movie industry in recent times,  the leadership of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, AGN,  has launched an internal appeal fund to support the families of their deceased members as well as provide quick medical interventions for those who are bedridden for various ailments.

This was made known in a statement issued, Monday,  by Kemi Adekomi, Senior Special Adviser to AGN President on Media and Publicity.

According to the statement, AGN President, Emeka Rollas is highly saddened by the recent spate of deaths in the industry.

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The statement read: “As is his usual style of carrying members of the Guild along in all he does, the President has been making a passionate appeal to members and Nollywood at large, to lend support to their colleagues through the Trust Fund which is chaired by a veteran actress, Joke Silva.

“The Guild has become overwhelmed with the urgent need to provide assistance to sick members as well as participate in the funeral activities of the deceased and provide for the upkeep of the immediate families.

“It is with great sadness to note that three corpses of AGN members are currently in the morgue waiting for final burial rites. They include Jim Lawson Maduike, Dan Nkoloagu and Ernest Asuzu (who passed on recently), while some members are equally down with life-threatening ailments.

“The President sees this as a burden all actors have to bear, and to be our brother’s keeper in times of need.”

According to the Actors Guild statement, about N2.7 million has generated in less than 24 hours of launching the appeal fund.

Some of the ailing actors include Tom Njemanze, Prince Emeka Ani, Bruno Iwuoha, Evelyn Osugo, Ken Odunukwe, Tony Goodman among others who are critically ill, with need for urgent medical interventions.

Vanguard News Nigeria