Popular Nollywood actor Ganiu Nofiu, widely known as Alapini, has voiced disappointment over his involvement in President Bola Tinubu’s 2023 election campaign, saying he now regrets backing the president.
Speaking on the programme African A-List, Alapini said he and many of his colleagues supported Tinubu purely out of respect for his past support for the entertainment industry, not for monetary reasons.
“We had to abandon all our work to campaign for Tinubu. During the campaign, we were not fighting for our own pocket but genuinely for the well-being of the citizens,” he explained.
According to the actor, more than 100 entertainers were involved in the campaign and devoted two full months to it, sacrificing both personal and professional commitments. Despite this, he said their efforts have gone unrewarded and unacknowledged.
“We campaigned happily back then, thinking our Messiah had come because Tinubu is someone we love and he had contributed positively to the industry, which is why we supported him,” Alapini said. “We campaigned for two months, and nobody went to work or home. We were not compensated — probably they are not yet in the right frame of mind to do so.”
He also criticised Seyi Tinubu, the president’s son, for what he sees as biased philanthropic efforts. Alapini questioned why Seyi has focused his charitable work in northern Nigeria while seemingly overlooking those in the southwest, including many of the entertainers who backed his father.
“Will Seyi Tinubu claim he didn’t see us, the old actors, when we were campaigning? We were over a hundred actors, both old and young, walking around and reaching areas some people can’t even access,” he stated.
“…Seyi is running around the north paying their hospital bills. Aren’t there sick people in Yorubaland too? How many hospitals has he visited here to pay bills for the sick?”
Alapini speaks on Tinubu’s second term
When asked whether he would consider campaigning for Tinubu again in 2027, Nofiu was clear: “I haven’t thought about being involved in his second term campaign. They should reflect and acknowledge those who supported him during the first term campaign.”
Alapini joins a growing list of Nollywood figures who have publicly expressed regret over their political support. In 2023, actress Ronke Oshodi Oke also admitted she regretted backing the All Progressives Congress (APC), especially in light of the events that followed the EndSARS protests.
