Minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed, says the Federal Government is set to conclude and launch National Policy on Culture as well as National Policy on Tourism to set the necessary legal framework for the sector.
The new legal framework is expected to open up the sector to reward initiatives, create finances ranging from N3 million to N500 million funding for various projects in the industry.
Mohammed, speaking last week while addressing newsmen on the proposed agenda for the culture and tourism sector for the next four years, said the ministry would finalise work on the Motion Picture Council of Nigeria (MOPICON) Bill and submit it to the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
The plan, according to Mohammed, is to create a proper regulatory environment for the sub-sector that has put Nigeria’s name on the global map and to attract the much-needed investment to the sector.
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The minister added that an Endowment Fund for The Arts will be established to create a legal framework for the financing of the sector while the ministry will complete work on the establishment of Tourism Statistics and Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), working with the UNWTO.
The minister also highlighted some of the achievements achieved in his last tenure, saying the ministry had worked to improve access to long-term, low-cost financing for entrepreneurs and investors in the Creative Industry and the Information Technology sectors.
This, according to him, is a fallout of the meetings with the Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI) of the Central Bank of Nigeria, saying, “Under this Initiative, you can get a loan ranging from N3 million to N500 million for movie production, movie distribution, fashion, music, etc. Pioneer status was also granted to the Creative Industry Sector by the Federal Government to boost investment in the sector.”
