Actor and producer Uzee Usman has expressed his support for fellow actors Lateef Adedimeji and Uche Montana ahead of the 11th Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA).
In a post shared on Instagram on Saturday, Uzee featured a photo of Adedimeji and Montana with a caption questioning the transparency of the AMVCA selection process.
He argued that despite the awards being titled “Viewers’ Choice,” many major categories are decided by a select group of jurors, potentially sidelining deserving talents.
“If we are being realistic and keep sentiment of it’s been in Nollywood since its time to recognize him or her… these two individuals deserve to be Best Actor — @adedimejilateef — and Best Actress — @uchemontana — for the works they put in on every platform,” he wrote.
“But as I said, we are all at the mercy of some individuals who decide the fate of Nollywood in general. So actors or filmmakers who are not in the good books of those individuals as juries — and you’re nominated — it’s unfortunate for you. Because them go pack all the award give people who have been there and don’t get recognition, not based on what I listed.
“But we already know their favorites. Picking them above these two will clearly show that they’re being recognized just because they’ve been there and happen to get films that were not well placed in terms of storytelling — but those projects got massive publicity for the audience to watch.
But we are closely watching,” he added.
Uzee’s comments come as both actors have secured nominations in top categories.
Adedimeji Lateef is nominated for Best Lead Actor for his role in Lisabi: The Uprising, a film that has garnered ten nominations, including Best Movie and Best Editing.
Uche Montana has earned her first AMVCA Best Lead Actress nomination for her performance in Thin Line.
The actress was visibly emotional upon receiving the news, sharing a heartfelt video on Instagram where she credited the film’s team, including Mercy Aigbe, for the achievement.
The 2025 AMVCA ceremony is scheduled to take place on Saturday(today) in Lagos, Nigeria.
This year’s event spanned four days, celebrating achievements in film, culture, fashion and music.
A new category, Best Music Score, has been introduced, bringing the total number of award categories to 28.
