Nollywood actress and filmmaker Toyin Abraham has rejected her inclusion in the Lagos State All Progressives Congress Campaign Council, saying she is staying out of politics.
Her reaction came barely hours after her name appeared on the APC’s published list of members of its Entertainment and Creative Economy Directorate ahead of the council’s scheduled inauguration in Lagos.
The list placed Abraham alongside prominent entertainers including Jide Kosoko, Eniola Badmus, Bimbo Akintola, Pasuma, Obesere and Adewale Ayuba. Toke Benson-Awoyinka was named director of the directorate, with Kosoko as co-director and Badmus as deputy director.
But Abraham quickly distanced herself from the political structure.
In an Instagram Story on Thursday, September 17, the actress said she was not a member of any campaign council and asked the public to disregard the reported inclusion.
“I’m not a member of any campaign council. I have said it recently. I am staying out of politics. Please disregard the supposed inclusion of my name in any campaign committee.”
Her statement creates a clear distinction between her name appearing on the APC’s published list and her stated refusal to participate in the campaign structure.
ValidViewNetwork Had Earlier Reported Her Inclusion
ValidViewNetwork had earlier reported that Abraham was among 33 entertainment and creative-sector personalities named in the Lagos APC campaign council.
The report followed the release of the council’s list ahead of its September 18 inauguration at the APC secretariat on ACME Road, Ikeja.
At the time, Abraham’s name appeared as a member of the Entertainment and Creative Economy Directorate. Her subsequent statement means that her inclusion should not be presented as confirmation that she accepted the appointment or agreed to campaign for the APC in 2027.
As of her statement, she says the opposite.
From Open Tinubu Support to “Stay Out of Politics”
Abraham’s latest position is particularly notable because she was an outspoken supporter of Bola Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election, when he contested on the APC platform.
In January 2023, she publicly explained that she intended to vote for Tinubu and later continued to defend her decision despite the criticism that followed.
Her political choice attracted strong reactions online. Some critics insulted and trolled the actress, while she also faced reports of calls for a boycott of her movies.
In February 2023, she responded to the backlash by insisting that Nigerians should be allowed to make their political choices without being bullied or threatened.
The backlash went beyond ordinary political disagreement. Abraham at one point reacted after an obituary video about her circulated online following her support for Tinubu.
She condemned threats and harassment, arguing that political disagreement should not become a reason to wish another person dead.
There were also highly charged online reactions from critics who portrayed the APC in deeply negative terms. Some social-media users described the party as “evil” while attacking celebrities who supported it.
Those statements reflected the language of individual critics and should not be presented as the view of Nigerians generally.
Abraham Later Said the Politics Affected Her Career
The actress herself later acknowledged that her political position came at a professional cost. In March 2026, while advising fellow actor Timini Egbuson on his movie career, Abraham warned entertainers against openly declaring political allegiances.
She advised him to remain neutral and not publicly announce support for political candidates.
When reminded of her own support for Tinubu, she described that period as being in the past and acknowledged that it had affected her. “Haaaaaaa, it affected me oooo,” Abraham said while discussing the impact of her political position on her career.
Reports at the time linked the backlash to calls by some critics to boycott her films and alleged circulation of one of her movies through WhatsApp.
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Those reports describe reactions from sections of the public, not evidence that the entire Nigerian audience rejected her work.
Her experience helps explain the significance of her latest statement. After publicly supporting a presidential candidate in 2023 and enduring a prolonged backlash, Abraham is now explicitly saying that she wants to remain outside political campaign structures.
What Remains Unclear
One question remains unanswered: how did her name get onto the APC campaign council list if she says she is not a member of the council?
The published list carried her name, but Abraham has now denied membership and has not publicly explained how her name came to be included.
There was also no immediate public explanation from the Lagos APC campaign structure clarifying the discrepancy in the reports reviewed for this story.
ValidViewNetwork reports that the episode is less about whether Toyin Abraham once supported the APC than about the difference between her documented political past and her clearly stated position today.
Her 2023 support for Tinubu is part of the public record. So is the backlash that followed.
But her latest statement is equally clear: she says she is staying out of politics and does not want her name treated as confirmation of membership in the Lagos APC campaign council.
For now, therefore, the published list carries her name, while the actress herself says she does not belong to the campaign council. ValidViewNetwork reports.
