James Aboagye, president of the Film Producers Association of Ghana (FIPAG) in an interview with MzGee on 3FM responded in the affirmative when asked if Kofi Adjorlolo will be used as a scapegoat should the veteran actor refuse to apologise over claims he cast a slur on the union.
“So our scapegoat is Kofi Adjorlolo?” asked the host.
“Oh, yes of course,” Mr Aboagye responded.
His reason was not different from the wording of a statement the association issued after Mr. Adjorlolo alleged that seven movie producers owe him.
“You make every producer in the country look a cheat in the eyes of every Ghanaian and that was not fair enough. So he has to apologise, at least, to those who are not owing you,” said Aboagye who further dispelled assertions the caution was aimed at gagging actors to make their grievances known.
“It is not what you say but how you say it. It is within the right of any actor who is cheated to speak about it. But I’ll prefer you do it through the existing structures. Specifically, he should have come out with the names. He has mentioned two; where are the other five?”
Aboagye has however denied ever making a statement that Adjorlolo will be used as a scapegoat.
In an interview with Andy Dosty on Hitz FM’s Daybreak Hitz, he said: “We haven’t said anywhere that we’re going to use Kofi Adjorlolo as a scapegoat. If we say that, then it means we have made him a target. All we are saying is that he has maligned the industry… If he fails to name them, then he must apologise.”
Adjorlolo had in an interview expressed fury over some movie producers’ refusal to pay him after they engaged his services. Having quit his broadcasting career after 17 years to venture into acting, the least he expected was to be treated unfairly.
“Some of the producers in Ghana here, they should respect themselves...old man like me, they call me to come and work and they can't pay me...,” a seeming frustrated Adjorlolo complained.
What irked him the most was the fact that he is said to be worth $800,000 when in actual fact, he has been starved for years. While stating that many Ghanaian movie producers do not pay actors for their roles in movies, the veteran intimated that a number of actors are still in the business because of the passion they have for it.
“About seven producers in this country owe me monies…why? And then I’m sitting at home, I'm hungry, and then when I’m sick too nobody pays attention,” he fumed. “Look we have elderly people lying down on their sickbeds and these producers owe them. Actors in Ghana here know what I’m talking about, these producers don’t pay!"
Barely a day after Adjorlolo’s outburst gained prominence, FIPAG issued a statement condemning the actor for “casting a slur” on the association. They expected him to “use internal structures” and demand what is due him. FIPAG further said Adjorlolo should have mentioned the names of his debtors rather than leaving people to wonder who these seven persons are.
The caution was criticised by several industry players as they suggested that FIPAG goofed. They argued that Adjorlolo did not in any way put the name of FIPAG into disrepute since he was addressing his debtors and not the association.
Below is James Aboagye’s interview with MzGee:
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