Speaking on Hitz FM’s Daybreak Hitz with Doreen Avio and Kwame Dadzie on Thursday, 11 September 2025, Arinze cautioned against misconduct by foreigners.

“When you go to somebody’s country, the onus lies with you to respect the sanctity of that sovereignty,” he said.

He was reacting to recent controversy surrounding a Nigerian man reported to have plans of establishing an Igbo community in Ghana.

“I heard something last month about a Nigerian who wants to become an Igwe in Ghana. You leave your hometown in Nigeria, you come to Ghana and you want to become Igwe,” Arinze said.

“If I was around na hammer we for take hammer ein head,” he added.

A few months ago, Eze Chukwudi Jude Ihenetu, also known as Eze Ndi Igbo Ghana or Eze Ohazurume I of Ndigbo in Ghana, was reported to have acquired 50 acres of land in Old Ningo, Greater Accra Region, to build an “Igbo village” or “Igbo kingdom.”

The reported plan included a palace, a 2,000-seat town hall, a 100-room guest house, a market, a school, streets named after Igbo figures, and a garden.

The Ga Traditional Council responded with a statement stressing it had never recognised Eze Ihenetu as a king within the Ga State and asked him to stop presenting himself as one. The Ningo Traditional Council also denied selling land to him for any such project.

Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, warned him to respect Ghanaian laws and avoid divisive conduct.

Following public backlash, Eze Ihenetu issued statements denying that any land had been acquired or that there were plans to create an Igbo Village or Kingdom.

He explained that the rumours stemmed from a 2013 interview, shortly after his 2012 coronation, in which he shared visions that were later shelved.

He said the project was cancelled in 2014 and apologised to Ghanaians for any misunderstanding caused.

Source: Kwame Dadzie

Arinze, who is President of the Association of Voice Over Artists in Nigeria said reports of a blanket ban were misleading.

Speaking in an interview with Kwame Dadzie and Doreen Avio on Accra-based Hitz FM, he explained that the directive had been misinterpreted.

“CNN had an interview with me on that. So this is it. We said ‘stop taking it out of the country. The Director General of the Advertising Regulation Council of Nigeria called me and said this is what they were going to do. I knew what they were going to do.

He said they were tired of advertising agencies taking the jobs to the UK and South Africa to shoot. Because they were trying to make money and then you were leaving the young talents. So why don’t leave all those things here, do them here? No voice-over talent in America will come to Naija to come and produce or shoot the advert. They won’t, unless it’s intentional. Unless there is a reason for it,” he told Kwame and Doreen on Daybreak Hitz.

“It wasn’t like a blanket ban. We just said please stop taking them out for now. Even for modelling, do them. Why would take Ghanaian for like ‘bofrot’ to the UK and go and shoot [an advert for] it with white kids and bring it back and say ‘bofrot.’ So how do the kids relate to it. So you do it in such a way that you shoot it in Ghana here so the kids can relate. So that is what exactly the Advertising Regulation Council was saying,” he further explained.

Ghanaian actor and playwright Andrew Tandoh Adote, who was also on the show, confirmed that adverts he voiced are currently running in Nigeria.

Background to the directive

In August 2022, the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), announced a ban on the use of foreign models and voice-over artists in advertisements targeted at or exposed on the Nigerian market.

The directive, which took effect from 1st October 2022, is backed by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria Act No. 23 of 2022. ARCON says the law gives it authority to enforce the measure.

Under the rules, all adverts and marketing communications in Nigeria must use only Nigerian models and voice-over artists. Ongoing campaigns at the time were allowed to run their contracts, but once expired, applications for revalidation were not to be granted if they violated the new regulation.

ARCON stated that there were no exemptions, whether for television commercials, print adverts, billboards or other advertising formats.

The rationale, according to the Council, was to develop local talent, promote inclusive economic growth, retain more advertising revenue within the country, and ensure greater use of indigenous skills and representation in the sector.

Source :Kwame Dadzie

The speculation arose after photos of the actor looking frail with a swollen stomach surfaced online, prompting concerns from fans.

However, Arinze has clarified that the images were taken from a movie set and do not reflect his actual health condition.

Taking to his social media platforms on Tuesday, the actor condemned the misinformation, stating that it caused him unwarranted embarrassment and distress to his family.

Arinze further announced his intention to pursue legal action against the originator of the false claims for defamation.

He also expressed gratitude to those who reached out in concern, reassuring fans and well-wishers that he is in good health.

He wrote, “To say that some people are mentally deranged will be an understatement. Firstly, I don’t know you from anywhere. We are not related, neither are we friends. And you had the guts to go on Facebook to post a picture of me on a movie set working. Then you decided to tell the world that a member of your family is sick (not me). I’m using this medium to clear the air—I am very hale and hearty.

“I’m not in any way sick. And also, let @Sarah Irete Ajayi Otagbo know that I will be taking legal action against her for spreading false news about me. You have caused me a lot of pain and embarrassment, not just to me but to my family and friends as well. Thank you to everyone who reached out to me. God bless you all.”

The 58-year-old actor first married actress Anne Njemanze in 1996, but their union ended in 1997.

After a 12-year break from matrimony, Arinze married Julie in 2008. The couple now has three children together.

Speaking on the WithChude podcast, Segun Arinze said, “I was confused about getting the right person” after he and Njemanze divorced.

The filmmaker said he was involved in many relationships until “I cried to God” in 2007 to give him a wife. Arinze said he initially refused to speak about his failed marriage “because people do not share everything”.

“I stayed out of marriage after the first one crashed. I stayed out of marriage for like 12 years before I remarried. I remarried in 2008. Not that I gave up on marriage, I was just really confused about getting the right person,” he said.

“I got into so many crazy relationships. Both the ones were good, crazy, and bad I have seen all. That year, 2007. I cried to God and said ‘Father Lord I have had enough can you just give me a wife’. I said just find me a wife. I remember I cried.

“And then I went to a wedding and I saw this beautiful woman. I asked my PA to get her number but he came back because he was scared. Julius Agwu and I were the MCs at the event. It was Don Chi’s wedding. And Julius Agwu said ‘My brother dey look for wife o’. When I sat I went to meet her, collected her contact and then invited her to a dinner. That is how it started. The rest is history.

“We are sixteen years in marriage now with three lovely kids. She is a lawyer. She is also my legal adviser.

“When that happened to me in 1997 I kept quiet. I did not say anything. I just let it go. Till date I said nothing and I do not want to say anything. I do not want to discuss anything about it. It happened. The shit will always happen. Everybody has a closet.”

The actor who was in Ghana for the African Movie Academy Awards press soirée held on Sunday at the IBIS Style Hotel says he believes that film is able to unite Africa.

“Film always unites, ignites passion, it becomes the voice for the masses, the downtrodden. They use it as a platform to say we can relate to what we saw in this film. Film is a veritable thing for a change in governance,” he said in an interview with Joy Entertainment.

Asked whether that change has been seen in Africa, Segun Arinze noted that change is a gradual process that is not expected to happen immediately.   

He therefore encouraged filmmakers to be consistent with knocking on the doors of government, adding that they will eventually give a listening ear.

“It is a gradual process, it is just that sometimes the leaders also play deaf and dumb and pretend that they are not seeing but they see.”

This year marks the 19th year of the Africa Movie Academy Awards.

Meanwhile, actor, Kofi Adjorlolo has expressed disappointment in Ghana for not getting a single nomination at this year’s event.

According to him, Ghana’s failure to secure a nomination at the continental film awards ceremony was shameful and a testament to the fallen film standards in the country.

“I’m not happy. It doesn’t make me happy. And actually, I should be ashamed. Apparently, I am not a filmmaker, I am not a producer, and this is so shameful. We have done films in this country since last year, most of the films are not up to standard. It clearly shows and this is it because if they were up to standard, AMAA will definitely nominate one or two films from Ghana,” he said.

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In order to overcome the fear, the actor was advised by actress Regina Daniels’ husband, Ned Nwoko, to practice swimming.

At Ned Nwoko’s house, Mr Arinze could be seen swimming in the pool but appeared terrified.

He wrote: “When I was a young boy I tried to learn swimming in Asaba Delta State and one boy tried to drown me when we got into a fight at the river where we used to play.

“Ever since I had a terrible phobia for swimming and ran away from any pool. So you can imagine me trying the swimming ropes many years after when @princenednwoko insisted I overcome the phobia by being my instructor thank you Distinguished Sir. Omo no be small thing ooo. See fear!”.