By Vanessa Obioha
Chairperson of the Nigerian Official Selection Committee (NOSC), Chineze Anyaene-Abonyi has said that the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) did not order the Committee to undertake another voting exercise as speculated in some quarters.
She disclosed that she had written to the Academy for clarifications after receiving the directive for a five-day grace of extension to reconvene, and got a response saying: “the Academy is unable to dictate voting procedure or influence any outcome regarding voting. Any decisions regarding revoting must be decided by the full Nigerian Official Selection Committee based on the Selection Committee’s own internal rules and regulations.”
There have been reports of a series of petitions to the Academy by some members of the Committee who, allegedly, are in favour of one of the films, thus asking for revote, even though the outcome of the members’ voting exercise of September 3, 2022 favoured “No Submission”.
Eight out of the 15-member committee voted to not have any film submitted, according to the simple majority rule that could be interpreted from the 8-5-1-1 voting patterns recorded.
The Chairperson noted that the rumour that the Academy was ordering revoting was suggesting that they were interfering in the internal affairs of the Nigerian body. “This is not the case, and the Academy has made it clear in its response,” she said.
