Shortly after popular comedian, Basketmouth, posted a picture of his annual UK Valentine's Day show on his social media page, his fans took him up whether he wanted to be absent during the forthcoming general election.

They opined that being a role model, he should perform his civic duties. However, in a chat with Saturday Beats, the comedian said that it was not possible for him to cancel his show because of the election.

He said the event had been planned long before the election date was announced and if he cancelled the show, he would lose millions of naira.

"This has been an annual show in the last six years. It is a franchise and it holds every Valentine's Day in the UK regardless of the day it falls on. It has been happening for the past six years and the venue has been booked long ago. The tickets have been on sale long before it was announced that elections would hold on that day.

"Unfortunately there is nothing I can do about it because everything is ready and I have to go on with my show. The people talking about it apparently do not know that it is a franchise that has been on for about six years. I cannot cancel the show because of elections," he said.

The humour merchant said he was sure that the few people that raised objection are mostly Nigerians who reside abroad. He added that if he was in the country during the election, he would vote because he is proud to be a Nigerian.

"If about thirty people that are probably in London and would not vote comment on my page; that does not mean that my whole fans are upset with me. Truth be told, if they are talking about fans' comments, I would like to see about three million comments from different people to show that they are unhappy. If you check well, those people that are commenting are not in the country. They are probably somewhere trying to get their permanent resident permits. I have no reason not to vote; I am a proud Nigerian," Basketmouth said.

@blackboxupdate