Veteran Nollywood actor, Emeka Ike, has described dating for financial benefits as “romantic scam”.

He claimed that some ladies go into relationships with the primary aim of raising funds, which according to him, equates to fraud.

Speaking in a recent interview with BBC Pidgin, the actor urged ladies who date for money to join street-begging instead of scamming unsuspecting men.

He said, “Love and marriage is not scam. But there are a few hungry people who are using relationship as meal tickets. That’s where it becomes a scam.

“Love is beautiful. If you find someone who genuinely likes you, it’s very sweet. But when you are liking him or her for an end they are not aware of, that’s a scam.

“A lot of girls are going into relationships because what they want to get from the man. They should just join street-begging instead of using relationship to raise money.

“Relationship is supposed to be sacred. Love is the pillar of every good relationship. Let’s stop messing it up in Nigeria. Let’s stop pretending that we are in love just to raise money. Relationship shouldn’t be a source of income.”