AS the Nigerian Golden Jubilee Anniversary draws nearer, the battle for the most influential entertainment personalities in Nigeria since independence gets tougher electronically with fans and supporters of all contenders trying to outdo one another in order to clinch the prizes for their preferred celebrities.

In the on-line poll that generates votes for the contenders, who will later be voted for in the course of the Golden Jubilee Award of Entertainment project, Genevieve Nnaji polled the highest votes in the Most Influential Person in Movies category, while Omotola Jalade, Richard Mofe-Damijo and the legendary Hubert Ogunde came behind her. Most influential personality in the Nigerian music since independence has Fela Anikulapo-Kuti in the lead, while Tuface, D’banj, P-square and Art Alade Snr trail behind. Austin Okocha has a clear lead over Kanu Nwankwo, Rashidi Yekini and Mary Onyali in sports.

For the Most Influential Personality in the comedy category, Nkem Owoh (Osuofia) is in the lead, with Basketmouth and Ali Baba following closely, while in the Most Influential Executives in Entertainment,  Ben Bruce of Silverbird scores the highest votes, while Nduka Obaigbena, Wale Adenuga are other top contenders.

Leading in the Most Inflential Corporate Body category is telecommunications giant, MTN while  Globacom follows with Coca Cola and Nigerian Breweries following them.

Joke Silva leads in the Most Influential Personality in Television and Superstory producer, Wale Adenuga, is second on the ladder; Funmi Iyanda, Amaka Igwe and Frank Edoho are other leaders in the category

For the Most Influential Personality in Theatre, Professor Wole Soyinka takes a clear lead, Joke Silva, Olu Jacob, Ola Rotimi are the other contenders in the category. The leaders for the Most Inflential Personality in radio entertainment are Dan Foster, Yaw, Dayo Adeneye and Bisi Olatilo.

OJ productions, Kennis and Obaino are all contenders for the Most Influential Promoter/Marketer since independence. Genevieve also carts the highest votes for the Most Popular Star in Nigeria category.

The Golden Jubilee of Entertainment Awards is part of the Stingomania sponsored Golden Jubilee project and is a  three-event project, which seeks to recognise, honour and celebrate 100 most influential people in  the entertainment industry since independence.

According to the producer of the project, Ope Banwo and Stingomania entertainment, The final top 10 in each category will not be based on online voting alone since it is understood that some from the old school may not get a fair shot at being recognised for their body of work if everything is based on the internet.

To ensure that the selection process is fair to all practitioners from 1960 to date, Stingomania is mixing the online voting with inputs from experienced practitioners, as well as knowledgeable insiders in the industry. Some of the notable names that have given inputs to help with the final selection in the project include Patrick Doyle, Dayo Adeneye, Solomon Arueya of Westside music,  Gbenga Adeyinka, Tony Okoroji of Coson, Mayo Ayilaran of MCSN, among others.