LAGOS, Nigeria — Veteran Nollywood actor Fatai Adetayo, popularly known as Lalude, has accused the 2023 campaign teams of President Bola Tinubu and Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of abandoning and betraying Yoruba entertainers who supported their electoral bids.
In a video interview on YouTube’s Behind the Fame channel, Lalude claimed that despite spending nearly two months campaigning for the All Progressives Congress (APC), he and his colleagues were not compensated as promised.
“We spent one month and three weeks to campaign,” Lalude said.
“They were giving us ten thousand daily for feeding. It was supposed to be more than that for campaign purposes, but they decided it is ten thousand they want to be paying.”
Lalude alleged that organisers began delaying the daily stipends when they learned the actors were attempting to save money.
He further claimed that after the campaign ended, no final payment was made.
“After concluding the job, we did not get a dime. If we curse them, they will not survive it until their death,” he said, visibly emotional.
He went on to invoke curses in Yoruba, declaring that those who blocked the promised payment “will never benefit from their existence until their death.”
The actor also singled out a leader of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), accusing him of promising financial rewards that never materialised.
“It was … who called us. We went for camping. He called Alapini and I personally to request what we wanted. He promised to give us money. Till date, we have not received a dime,” he said.
The actor recalled the harsh conditions during the campaign, including walking long distances while others were driven.
“We were camped for seven weeks. We often trekked two to three miles, while others passed us in cars.”
He said the team was told that President Tinubu had instructed organisers to find out what the actors wanted, and to liaise with his son, Seyi Tinubu.
“They relayed a message that the President told them to ask the person who brought us what we wanted, and meet Seyi Tinubu,” he said.
“It was this same person who asked what I wanted, and I told him a car. He promised to give Alapini and I a car.”
However, the promises reportedly went unfulfilled.
“He still told us someone was going to give us N1.5 million next week Thursday. The person he told us to meet said they have not given him any money,” Lalude said.
Fellow Yoruba actor, Ganiu Nofiu, popularly known as Alapini, who appeared in the interview, corroborated Lalude’s account and said he felt compelled to finally speak out.
“I remember that day when we went to meet Sanwo-Olu, our Governor, His Excellency. He promised us money, but I don’t know if those who organised us collected the money behind us and embezzled it,” he said.
“We went home the same way we came.”
Alapini admitted to publicly shielding the organisers during the campaign.
“I had to lie that we were not maltreated during the campaign period,” he said.
