The Federal Government has announced the appointment of the Director General of National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Otunba Olusegun Runsewe as the chairman of the implementation committee for the post COVID-19 initiative for the creative industry.
Other members of the five-men committee which has six weeks to complete its assignment are, Ali Baba (Deputy Chairman), Anita Eboigbe, Baba Agba and Joe Mutah (Secretary).
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed who inaugurated the committee on Tuesday said though the time might be too short given the enormous work it has to do, he however had confidence in the ability of the appointees to do a great job.
The term of reference of the Implementation Committee are: To design an implementation plan on immediate and short-term relief for the Creative Industry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic (Short Term); Design a Policy Framework for Tax Relief for the various sectors in the Creative Industry, if it is identified as one of the measures aimed at achieving immediate and short-term relief for the Industry; Work out a detailed implementation plan for a long-term intervention for the overall development of the Creative industry in Nigeria (long-term).
Mohammed said the committee was put in place to ensure diligent implementation of the report on Covid-19 initiative for the creative industry, which submitted by the Ali Baba lead committee on July 3rd 2020.
He promised that the report will be carefully studied “with the same seriousness that the committee employed in preparing it, with a view to ensuring its full implementation”.
“We have indeed studied the report, and I can tell you that it is nothing short of phenomenal! The Committee went beyond the call of duty to do a complete mapping of the Creative Industry, like it has never been done before. We remain grateful to all the members for their diligence and patriotism.
“In order to ensure a diligent implementation of the report, we have assembled a five-member Implementation Committee, which is being inaugurated Tuesday.
“The committee has six weeks to submit its report. In view of the enormity of the work involved, I will not be surprised if this committee seeks an extension of the duration of work. If that happens, I will not hesitate to grant such.”
He also expressed confidence in the committee to do a great job.
“I have no doubt that this Implementation Committee will approach its assignment with a great sense of duty, realizing that the development and growth of the Creative Industry – which is the second biggest job creator after Agriculture – rest on their shoulders,” he said.
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