Popular actress, Funke Akindele Bello has apologised to the public after coming under fire for hosting a house party amidst the coronavirus lockdown and sharing the same event on the social media.
Funke had on Saturday hosted a party to celebrate her husband, JJC Skillz— Abdulrasheed Bello’s birthday in their Amen Estate home in Lagos.
She was consequently attacked by Nigerians all over social media for flouting government directives on total lockdown and ban on large gatherings to flatten the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Present at the controversial event were singer Naira Marley, actress Eniola Badmus and a host of other guests.
In a video from the party, JJC Skillz said it was his birthday and he had to invite friends to celebrate with him at their home along the Lekki-Epe Expressway.
He said, “Na here we dey, those of us wey get mind (sic). This is the best estate to be stuck in during the lockdown. It is my birthday.”
The guests, who were over 20, including Naira Marley, were also seen singing ‘Ma fo’, a song released by the musician.
The video drew the ire of Nigerians on social media with many calling on both the Federal Government and the Lagos State Government to take immediate action.
Funke, however, tendered unreserved apology via her social media official pages. She said in a video posted on Sunday that she was not trying to defend her actions with her detailed explanations but was apologising to Nigerians and the Lagos state government for her acts.
In her explanation, the actress said in the video that the guests at the party had been in the estate before the lockdown.
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She further apologised to Nigerians for the lapse in judgement in sharing the video on social media at the wrong time, thereby sending a wrong message to her followers.
“My husband and I run the Scene One studio in Amen Estate where we live. We have about twelve studios in the estate where we film our movies. We have a strength of about a hundred workers. When the pandemic started, we had to stop all works, including ‘Omo Ghetto, the Saga’ that was supposed to start in April.
“Before the lockdown was announced by our president, a lot of youths were in the estate for a boot camp, some of which you saw in the video. When the lockdown started, some of the staff that live outside Lagos couldn’t go back so they had to stay back.
“Naira Marley is part of the Omo Ghetto project. When the lockdown started, he decided to stay back because he loved the environment. Then my husband’s birthday came up and we all celebrated as a family,” she said.
The veteran actress said putting the videos of the party up on social media should not have happened. She apologised for misleading people with it and promised to always practice what she preaches.
She concluded the video by emphasising that no one came to the party from outside the estate while reiterating her support for the efforts of the government in the fight against the Coronavirus.
