Theatre Arts & Movie Practitioners Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN) on Monday said it has suspended controversial actress and producer, Nkechi Blessing for gross misconduct and disrespect for the ethics of the association.
The leaderhipn of TAMPAN, led by its President, Bolaji Amusan and some members of its Board of Trustee including Jide Kosoko, Yinka Quadri, Adebayo Salami among others met in Lagos State on Sunday to brief the media about its decision to put its house order following a seeming division caused by the ongoing trial of Baba Ijesha, who was alleged of sexual assault and rape.
It was gathered that Nkechi had been warned several times to desist from being rude to the association, particularly its leadership but the actress insisted that she was not bound by the ethics of the association as she was not a member, adding that she would not be stopped from speaking her mind against any form of injustice.
On the part of Iyabo Ojo, the association was said to have warned the mother of two against making further comments on the matter of Baba Ijesha, who was granted bail last week Thursday after spending over a month in detention.
Iyabo and her colleague, Yomi Fabiyi had been embroiled in war of words over the former’s insistence on ensuring justice is served as she made public statement and Instagram videos where she said”I would not keep quiet on the matter of Baba Ijesha who was caught molesting a minor. I am a mother and this can’t be taken lightly. The law must take it’s full course.”
TAMPAN on Sunday, however placed a ban on Iyabo and Nkechi and warned movie directors and producers to desist from working with them until the association rescinds its decision.
Speaking on why the ban was necessary, Jide Kosoko who spoke on behalf of the association said the association has been rubbished by the actions of the two actresses over the past weeks and it was time to take decisive steps to address the issues.
“The industry is large and it is normal to have some black sheeps that would want to act bigger than the association but we will not sit back and watch that happen to us. Some of us who built this association to this level would not watch anyone drag it through the mud as though we have no leadership. ”
“We have banned Nkechi Blessing and Iyabo Ojo and we will ensure that none of them is invited to location by movie producers. This is a total ban and we are backed by a constitution that must be respected.
“If you look at the number of members that are currently misbehaving, you will see that they are not up to 10. So those are the black sheeps we are taking measures to address the issues. For now, Iyabo Ojo and Nkechi Blessing remained banned from working with anyone in the industry,” he said.
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