Movie industry bigwigs today can not be listed without the mention of Funke Akindele. Well, it was not always peaches and roses for her and she has paid her dues in the industry before attaining this level of success. Funke Akindele is currently breaking the glass ceiling in the industry with the many great feats she is attaining.
In
the midst of all the drama that surrounded her marriage breakup, she has kept
mute and moved on like nothing happened. The star actress has just been named
by the Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the deputy
governorship candidate in Lagos State for the 2023 election.
The
actress, in a video on her Instagram page, announced that she is the running
mate to the PDP governorship candidate in Lagos State, Olajide Adediran, known
as Jandor. Following the confirmation of Nollywood actress, Funke Akindele as
the People Democratic Party (PDP) deputy governorship candidate in Lagos State
for the 2023 general election, some
Nigerian celebrities have congratulated her and wished her well. Funke is set
to put her career on hold and deliver her over 15 million followers to PDP in
the next gubernatorial election. In her post, she affirmed,
“I
am not unaware of the cost of this assignment on my vibrant career, which I
must now necessarily put on hold. It’s a huge personal sacrifice. My resolve is
that no sacrifice is too huge for the actualisation of the urgent mission to
rescue our people and our dear state. I saw it as an opportunity to help
liberate and improve the wellbeing of our people, particularly the deprived
youth, women and the girl-child. My decision is not just to accept this huge
responsibility but to also work tirelessly and complement Jandor’s burning
desire to see our dear Lagos live up to its full potential.”
Another
big feat of hers was also a few days back when the Academy Awards, popularly
known as the Oscars, invited the movie star to join The Academy class of 2022.
Celebrating
the feat, the Omo Ghetto actress said, “Wow!!!! I’m so happy!!! Getting an
invitation as a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences class
of 2022 under the category of ACTORS is such a BIG DEAL.” Thank you
#theacademy #realchiomaude I’m so honoured!!”.This invitation also came amidst
her separation from her husband, Abdul Bello a.k.a JJC Skillz.
As
Funke begins a new direction in life, testing the political water she is no
doubt set to take the bull by the horn and harness all the strategies she has
to win at the upcoming polls. She is well-loved by the young and old, she is
highly celebrated, at home and abroad while many youths idolize her. She has
provided jobs for many youths through her Scene One Production Film Company.
She has equally made lots of upcoming youths in the industry famous by
featuring them in her different series and feature movies. Besides this, she
also runs a non-governmental organization known as the Jenifa Foundation which
aims at providing young people with vocational skills. Besides being one of the
most successful actresses in the entertainment industry, she is indeed the most
followed Nigerian actress on Instagram, all this and more are no doubt, why the
PDP Lagos State, governorship candidate, Dr Olajide Adediran considered her,
the most suitable candidate for the deputy governorship slot. This is followed by
a beautiful campaign picture which has already gone viral and all her fans have
been supporting her new venture in politics.
Funke
is big in terms of prominence, international recognition, acquisitions, and
endorsement deals with several major awards in her kitty.
The
top actress has been praised from time to time on social media for having a
great range, especially when it comes to role interpretation. She has starred
in movies acting as a tout, lover girl, student, and many more while
delivering top-notch performances.
Just
recently, she was named the most followed Nigerian actress on Instagram. This
came after she hit 15 million followers on the photo-sharing site.
Funke’s
popularity has witnessed a steady rise over the last two decades with a variety
of characters that endeared many of her fans to her. She is one of the few
Nigerian celebrities with a long list of brands as an ambassador. From
Fast-moving consumer brands to telecom brands and real estate, many brands want
a taste of Akindele-Bello’s magic wand. With over 15 million followers on
social media cumulatively, the multi-award-winning actress also ranks as one of
Nigeria’s highest-paid influencers.
From
her early days in the late 90s to now, this fantastic filmmaker and actress has
grown to become one of Nollywood’s emerging powerbrokers in the Nigerian film
industry with loads of achievements to her name.
She
is one of Africa’s finest and brightest actresses, who constantly tops the list
of highest-paid Nollywood actresses. She is newsworthy at any time with her
mind-blowing career.
These
are some of the many things that will work for her. Also, she was not just
picked as running mate to Mr Jide Adediran, the governorship candidate of the
Peoples Democratic Party, ‘PDP’, in Lagos State. He provided the reasons for
picking Nollywood actress, Funke Akinfele as running mate.
Confirming
her nomination, Adediran explained that he picked not just an actress, but a
filmmaker and a lawyer, who has been creating jobs for Nigerian youths for many
years now.
Speaking
on Channels Television’s Politics Today, the Lagos PDP governorship flagbearer
said, “My running mate, Funke Akindele, people call her an actress, but I’ll
say I picked a lawyer who found love in filmmaking.”
“Beyond
being an actress, she’s a filmmaker. Someone who has grown her business from
zero to something…and has won massive followership in the process. An
Ikorodu-born diva whom I believe is going to add value to my candidacy… some
people are forgetting that the purpose upon which a political party is
established is to win elections. “My running mate is a brand that connects the
grassroot and many people in cyberspace.”
“So,
a combination of that force already spells doom for the Lagos APC in 2023. In
Lagos, what we have is an unusual situation and it requires an unusual
solution. This is why we have presented to Lagosians a total departure from the
norm. This is something fresh.”
Also,
Funke Akindele stated her strategy for winning in her interview, When asked how
she plans to defeat the ruling party in Lagos in an interview with Channels TV
last Thursday, she said she has over 20m followers on social media who are
ready to vote for her. She boasted that apart from her followers on social
media, so many people love her at the grassroots level in Lagos State. Funke
said: “I have the numbers, I have fans and followers and I’m true to myself.
“I
have more than 20 million fans on social media and also at the grassroots
level. “I have fans at the grassroots level outside Ikorodu ready to support me
and I’m true to myself. What I’m coming in to do is to change the lives of
Lagosians.”
“I’m
here to provide solutions in Lagos. I’m in the system, I’m in the pain, we all
know where the shoe pinches us.” Asked when she decided to join politics, Akindele
said: “I became a member of the PDP about three months ago. The governorship
candidate of our party, Olajide Adediran, approached me and I saw it as an
opportunity to join him rescue the state from the state of infrastructural
deficit. Although I have been managing people for over two decades, my
interest to join politics in the state was ignited when Jandor, our
governorship candidate, approached me to do it together with him. Immediately,
I jumped at it.”Akindele, who said she was tired of complaining, said she is
coming for the children, youths and women.
Asked
about her plan to make an assured impact in Lagos, she said efforts were on to
review the level of challenges in Lagos. This, according to her, will guide the
party on how to go about their development plan. Asked about the party’s chances
of winning the election in 2023, she said: “The governorship candidate and
myself have our followers, both on the social media and at the grassroots.” She
said she has been getting positive feedback and reception from the people
since she declared her intention. She, however, admitted she has received a lot
of backlash for joining the PDP. But she said since her intention is to win,
she needed to ‘identify with a party with a structure and solid base, which is
the PDP’.
-
TAYO OYEDIJI
0 Comments