The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has declared the commitment of the Federal Government to the implementation of the committee report on post-COVID-19 initiatives in the creative industry.
The Minister made the assurance following the submission of the committee’s report.
“I learned that the committee engaged with the broad spectrum of the entire creative sector. This act of inclusiveness is most welcome and has been justified by the stakeholders’ commendations that poured in through the various media platforms.
“I can assure you that we will study the report and commence its implementation in earnest,” he said.
He also expressed gratitude to the chairman and members of the
committee for their efforts.
Speaking on the occasion, Otunba Segun Runsewe, the Chairman of the Implementation Committee and Director-General of the National Council for Arts and Culture, remarked that the report captured every sector of the creative industry.
He explained that the committee put 14 clusters in place and that all stakeholders across the board were invited with their contributions captured in the report.
“The immediate, short and long-term remedies for each of the clusters are contained in the report. I want to assure you that the entire stakeholders in the creative industry are extremely grateful to you. This is the first time in the history of the country that a committee has gone in-depth to know what is wrong and offer solutions in the industry,” Runsewe said.
Recall that the Federal Government had in August 2020 inaugurated a committee to design an implementation plan on immediate and short-term relief for the creative industry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Part of their mandate included designing a policy framework for tax relief for the various sectors in the creative industry, to work out a detailed implementation plan for a long-term intervention for the overall development of the creative industry.