LAGOS, Nigeria(VOICE OF NAIJA)- Senior Special Assistant on Media to the Delta State Governor, Ossai Ovie, has criticized Nollywood actress Omoni Oboli for releasing a movie featuring late actor Alexx Ekubo shortly after his burial, arguing that the timing of the announcement was inappropriate despite her pledge to donate all proceeds to his family.
The controversy followed Oboli’s announcement that she had released ‘The First Lady’, a film she described as the project that sparked her friendship with Ekubo more than a decade ago.
The actress also revealed that all proceeds from the movie would be donated to the late actor’s family in honour of his memory.
Ekubo was laid to rest on Thursday in his hometown of Ujari, Arochukwu Local Government Area of Abia State.
The Nollywood star died at the age of 40 after battling complications linked to advanced metastatic kidney cancer.
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Reacting in a post shared on social media, Ossai said he was disappointed by the timing of the movie’s release, insisting that grief should not be tied to promotional activities.
“I’m disappointed in Omoni Oboli for using Alexx Ekubo’s burial to promote her movie and to cash out,” he wrote.
The media aide argued that Oboli’s explanation that the film marked the beginning of their friendship did not justify unveiling it immediately after the funeral.
“I just watched her video where she announced she’ll be releasing The First Lady, a film she said started their friendship 11–12 years ago. Using someone’s death as PR to gain subscribers is disturbing and to cash out under the pretentious ‘All proceeds from the movie go to the family of late Alex Ekubo’ or to keep his memories alive is disappointing,” Ossai stated.
Furthermore, Ossai maintained that the promise to donate the earnings does not remove the publicity benefits the release could bring to the actress YouTube platform.
“I know the ‘proceeds donation’ line will distract people from the real intent, but it’s clear this is a way of leveraging people’s emotions to subtly promote her YouTube channel. Grief is not content. A funeral is not a launch event. Alexx Ekubo deserves to be remembered for his life, his work and his impact, not repackaged as a trailer for a movie,” he added.
He also suggested that if the project was truly meant as a tribute, the announcement could have been made at a later date.
“If the goal was truly to honour him, the announcement could wait. We have to start calling this out. Tragedy should not be a content calendar event. Let’s protect the dignity of the dead and stop monetizing people’s pain. I am disappointed,” the media aide concluded.
