Minister announces plan to establish National Endowment for the Arts, MOPPICON

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has
announced plans to set up the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
and establish the Motion Picture Practitioners Council of Nigeria
(MOPPICON).

A statement issued in Abuja on Sunday quoted the Minister as saying,
at the 2016 Kannywood Awards in the nation's capital on Saturday
night, that when established, the NEA will ensure sustainable funding
for all the genre of the arts.

''We are forwarding a copy of the draft Bill on the establishment of
the National Endowment for the Arts to the Ministry of Justice. My
plan is to fast-track the realization of the NEA in order to guarantee
sustainable development of the creative sector,'' he said, adding that
the establishment of the NEA would tackle the challenge of funding
for the creative arts sector.

On MOPPICON, which will regulate, administer and control the motion
picture practice in Nigeria, he announced that he would soon set up a
ministerial committee on the MOPPICON Bill with a view to
fast-tracking its passage into law and paving the way for the
establishment of the council.

The Minister promised to work with the stakeholders in the movie
industry to tackle the challenges bedeviling the sector, including
Piracy, Distribution, Funding, and the Re-organization of the
Regulatory Agencies.

He called piracy a ''monstrous disincentive'' to the movie industry
and indeed the entire arts and entertainment industry, suggesting that
a longer jail term with no option of fine for convicted offenders and
the establishment of a dedicated National Task Force on Piracy could
help curb the scourge.

''I am told that a recent study revealed that there are 8 pirated
works to two original works out of every ten works you find in the
market. This is totally unacceptable! This Administration is
determined to fight this scourge, and indeed we have started fighting
it. Between the time we held the Roundtable in Lagos and today, three
alleged pirates have been arrested by the police. There is no better
evidence of our commitment to fighting piracy than this. I want to use
this opportunity to commend the police and the NCC for this
breakthrough,'' Alhaji Mohammed said..

He commended the organisers of the Kannywood Awards, which started in
2013, for ''keeping the flag flying''.

The Minister had on Feb. 5th 2016 met Nollywood stakeholders at a
Roundtable in Lagos.