- Five members have joined Nigeria’s Oscars committee.
- This comes ahead of the 97th edition of its annual awards.
- Ali Nuhu, Blessing Egbe, Victor Akande, Ijeoma Agu and Kene Okwuosa are the newest members.
The Nigeria Oscars Selection Committee, NOSC, has announced five additional new members ahead of the 97th edition of the annual award.
The 97th edition of the Oscars awards is slated for March 2nd, 2025.
NOSC, in a statement by its leader, Stephanie Linus, announced the Managing Director of the Nigerian Film Corporation, Ali Nuhu; film producer, Blessing Egbe; popular journalist and film critic Victor Akande; Group Chief Executive Officer of Filmhouse Cinemas, Kene Okwuosa and actress, Ijeoma Agu, as its new members.
The committee stated that the five personalities “will join returning members such as Stephanie Linus, who leads the team; Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde; Victor Okhai; Andy Amenechi; Yibo Koko; Izu Ojukwu; Dimeji Ajibola; Emem Isong; Jude Idada; Meg Otanwa and John Njamah”.
“The additional members were from different creative backgrounds, and would invariably enhance process of selecting the best film from Nigeria,” the statement added.
In June 2023, Nigerian superstar actors, Richard Mofe-Damijo (RMD), Kunle Afolayan, and Jade Osiberu were among the five Nigerians invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) class of 2023, making them voting Oscars members.
In a blog post, the AMPAS revealed the names of the 398 artists and entertainment executives invited to join the Oscar-dispensing group.
Other Nigerians who made the list are C.J Obasi and Shola Dada.
See how the Nigerians were placed on the list:
1. RMD — actor category
2. Kunle Afolayan — writer category
3. Shola Dada — writer category
4. CJ “Fiery” Obasi — director category
5. Jade Osiberu — producer category
The actors have excitedly taken to their Instagram pages to express their excitement. See their reactions below:
The Academy said the new members were invited based on “professionalism, commitment to representation, inclusion and equity”.