Pete Edochie appeals for support for actor Emmanuel Armah

Veteran Nigerian actor Pete Edochie has appealed to the government to come to the aid of veteran actor Emmanuel Armah, stating that the screen icon deserves support as he battles ill health.

Speaking in an interview with TV3, Pete Edochie revealed that one of the first people he wanted to see upon arriving in Ghana was Armah, describing him as the first Ghanaian actor to work in Nigeria alongside him.

He said he was saddened to learn that the veteran actor is seriously ill.

“I thought that by now the government would have been interested in Emmanuel Armah. Emmanuel, I think, was the first actor from Ghana to come to Nigeria to work, and he featured with me on the same production. When I asked after him, I was told he was very ill. That was when I said the first person I would like to see if I came in was Emmanuel, and they arranged to bring him,” he said.

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Reflecting on Armah’s condition, Pete Edochie noted that stroke can have devastating effects on the brain but expressed hope that prayer and government intervention could make a difference.

“You know, when stroke hits you, it’s your brain that it scatters. There is no way it can be reassembled again. But there is prayer, and number two, I think the government can help him. In fact, I’m calling on the government now,” he appealed.

The celebrated actor recalled making a similar public appeal for a sick Nigerian colleague, Okon, saying his intervention prompted the government to send financial support within a week.

“I was interviewed in my house in Enugu and they were talking to me from another state that one of us was ill. I called on the government to help Okon, and the following week the government sent half a million naira to him,” Pete Edochie recounted.

The actor attributed the response to the credibility he has built over decades in the entertainment industry, adding that he only speaks publicly on issues he believes genuinely require attention.

“I thank God that I have a lot of respect. People follow me a great deal, and they believe that I don’t just talk because there is need to talk. In the next six months I’ll be eighty. God keeps me. If I am talking to any of the governors or the president, it’s like a father talking to a son,” he said.

Pete Edochie further stressed that government can only respond to issues they are aware of, urging people not to remain silent when colleagues are in need.

“You see, if you don’t let the government know of the existence of something like that, there is nobody that can react,” he added.

During the interview, Pete Edochie also shared his thoughts on artificial intelligence, admitting that he is not a fan of the rapidly advancing technology because of its potential to blur the line between reality and fiction.

“I don’t like artificial intelligence. I don’t. People are beginning to protest against it seriously overseas. You don’t know what is real. The real can continue to be true and something artificial that’s not good,” he said.

Exclusive with Veteran Nigerian Actor Pete Edochie on #TheAfternoonShow

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— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) October 7, 2026