A Senior Special Assistant on Media to the Delta State Governor, Ossai Ovie Success, has criticised Nollywood actress and filmmaker Omoni Oboli for announcing the release of a movie featuring the late Alexx Ekubo shortly after his burial, describing the move as insensitive and an attempt to benefit from public grief.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Ossai expressed disappointment over Oboli’s decision to premiere The First Lady on her YouTube channel in honour of the late actor. While acknowledging her pledge to donate proceeds from the film to Ekubo’s family, he argued that the timing of the announcement was inappropriate.
“I’m disappointed in Omoni Oboli for using Alexx Ekubo’s burial to promote her movie and to cash out,” Ossai wrote.
According to him, Oboli’s explanation that the film marked the beginning of her friendship with Ekubo more than a decade ago did not justify announcing its release immediately after his 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 pretence of ‘all proceeds from the movie go to the family of late Alexx Ekubo’ or to keep his memories alive is disappointing,” he said.
Ossai further argued that the promise to donate the proceeds did not eliminate what he described as the promotional advantage the release would bring to Oboli’s 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.
The governor’s aide maintained that if the intention was solely to honour the late actor, 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 monetising people’s pain. I am disappointed,” he stated.
Oboli had announced the release of The First Lady shortly after Ekubo’s burial, describing the movie as the project that sparked their friendship more than a decade ago.
In a video shared on her social media platforms, the actress said: “Today we finally laid our bestie, late Alexx Ekubo, to rest. In honour of his memory, I will be releasing The First Lady, a movie that started this whole friendship 11–12 years ago.”
The announcement has since generated mixed reactions on social media, with some users applauding the gesture and intended financial support for the actor’s family, while others questioned the timing of the release.
