Nigerian movie stars, Alex Ekubo, Yomi Fabiyi, and Toyin Aihmakhu, topped the winners’ list at the Best of Nollywood Awards.

Hosted by ace comedian, Okey Bakassi, and actress, Mercy Aigbe-Gentry, the awards aimed at acknowledging the resilience of Nigerian filmmakers amidst the economic recession, took place at El-Dorda event center, Aba, Abia State on Sunday.

The high point of the star-studded ceremony was when three Nollywood veterans, Chief Zebrudaya, Sola Sobowale and Fidelis Duker were rewarded for their giant strides and contributions to the Nigerian movie industry.

According to the organisers, aside from the 31 keenly contested categories at the annual BON Awards, the ‘Special Recognition’ category rewards the commitment and contributions of several individuals in their field as well as in Nollywood.

In his welcome address, the CEO of BON, Seun Oloketuyi, said, “The creative industry is a fertile ground for governments and investors to sow in Nigeria, more especially in the period that our nation gravely needs to diversify. This jury hopes that our state governments especially will look at ways to raise the revenue profile of their states by investing in this industry.

“This awards specifically aims at promoting the Nigerian cultural essence in movie making. This is why emphasis is placed on movies that are produced in the indigenous languages. As we said last year however, we hope that more producers will come forward and venture into film in our some other languages than Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba.”

See the full winners list below

BEST OF NOLLYWOOD 2016 WINNERS LIST

Best Actor in Leading Role (English)

. Alexx Ekubo in The First Lady

Best Actor in Leading Role (Yoruba)

• Yomi Fabiyi in Metomi

Best Actor in Leading Role (Hausa)

• Sadiq Dan Sadiq in Mat Da Lado