Veteran Nigerian actress, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, has disclosed why she and top actors/ actresses like Genevieve Nnaji, Ramsey Nouah, and Jim Iyke were banned by marketers in 2005.

Omotola, who spoke on Yanga FM, said the ban followed the group’s advocacy for higher standards and better quality in filmmaking, and this didn’t sit well with certain industry stakeholders.

Omotola, however, revealed that the restriction lasted longer for her, likely because she didn’t attend a reconciliation meeting.

During this period, she said she explored other creative outlets, releasing her first music album, and focused on business ventures, including property investments.

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According to her, the experience was a turning point that pushed her to grow and explore new paths, despite the setback in her acting career.

She said, “The phase started in 2005 when we were banned. Marketers banned us, saying our ‘wahala’ was too much and we were a bad influence on the industry because we were pushing for standards.

The first 8 were me, Genevieve, Ramsey Nouah, Jim Iyke, Stella Damasus, RMD, Nkem Owoh, and one other person. We were 8, they just banned us.”

“One year after they released some people because they called for a reconciliation meeting, and I refused to go, so they released others and extended my own.

“I like to direct rather than act, it was during that period I realised that acting all the time is not my passion, I will act because I really like the script,” she said.