The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) has disclosed that it has received and censored a total of 280 movies produced by the Nigerian filmmakers in the first quarter of the year.
Executive Director/CEO, Alhaji Adedayo Thomas, made this known in a statement in Abuja during the week.
According to the NFVCB boss, the figure was provided by the Department of Film Censorship and Classification of the Board in its first quarter report for the year, capturing all films submitted to the board from across the country.
The report is for onward submission to the relevant Federal Government agency as an input for the compilation of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first quarter.
It indicates a decrease in the number of movies produced from 340 in the Q4 2022 to 280 in Q1 2023, which represented about 18 per cent downward slope.
According to the statement,106 of the films came from Lagos censorship centre of the Board, representing the chunk of the movies produced during the period under review, and followed by Abuja with 99 movies.
Onitsha recorded 32 films, Abeokuta had 3 films while Kano and Benin had 15 and 1 films, respectively.
It further showed that Jos recorded 14 films, Port Harcourt 8, while Ibadan and Kaduna recorded 1 film each.
“There is no doubt that our film industry is a key contributor to national economy as the films being produced are clear reflection of the direct and indirect jobs the sector is creating.
“NFVCB as a Federal Government agency, is committed to providing enabling environment for filmmakers; we therefore urge them to cooperate with us by ensuring that they submit their films for classification,” Thomas said.