Media executive Mo Abudu has firmly rejected allegations that powerful groups orchestrate cinema schedules to block competing films.
Her comments come amid persistent complaints from filmmakers and moviegoers about selected movies being mysteriously pulled from theatres.
Recently, several producers have taken to social media to allege that their films, despite having allocated slots, were removed from cinema schedules.
They accused some industry colleagues of collaborating with cinema managers to limit screen availability.
Some audience members have echoed these concerns, reporting instances where cinema staff actively discouraged them from watching specific Nigerian films, claiming the movies were unavailable while promoting other options.
Speaking in an interview on ARISE Television, Abudu dismissed these claims as untrue. She asserted that cinema operations are driven solely by commercial considerations, not by sentiment or favouritism.
“There is no cabal,” Abudu stated. “This is not about sentiment or favouritism; it is about return on investment. If a film cannot fill seats, it will be replaced no matter who owns it. If I am running air-conditioning, paying staff, and only two or three people are sitting in a 100-seat cinema, that film will lose its slot. It is purely business.”
Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.
Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.
He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.
Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).
He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.
He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.
Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.
