Council of Arts and Culture, Bank of Industry to Create 200,000 jobs

MoU Between NCAC, BoI To Create 200,000 Jobs - Minister


The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said

the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the National Council for

Arts and Culture (NCAC) and the Bank of Industry (BoI), which makes

available 300 million Naira loan for stakeholders in the Creative

Industry, will create 200,000 jobs in the Sector.


The Minister said this in Abuja on Friday when the Director General of

the Council, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, presented to him the MoU, which

was signed earlier in the day.


"I have been reliably informed that top on the list of the benefits

that will accrue from this landmark MoU is that it will create over

200,000 jobs for the sector. This is epochal, and it is in line with

one of the cardinal programmes of this administration, which is job

creation and empowerment.


''The MoU will also act as a catalyst for the development of the

country's craft industries, create a financing window and make

available loanable funds to be accessed by all NCAC stakeholders, as

well as assist the stakeholders in capacity building," he said.


Alhaji Mohammed said the MoU will equally enhance the capacity of

producers of cultural products and services to work towards attaining

the standard of modern practice in the packaging of their cultural

products, to enable them compete favourably at the global markets and

earn the nation's Artists a decent living.


The Minister commended Otunba Runsewe for putting together ''this

momentous event'' just a few days after assuming office as the NCAC DG

, and also thanked the Acting MD of BoI, Mr Waheed Olagunju, for his

support for the Creative Industry.


"As you may all be aware, one of the factors militating against the

promotion of the Nigerian creative industries has been lack of access

to funding for the Artists to develop their creative works as well as

weak access to international markets, due to poor packaging and

standard. I am therefore happy to say that with the signing of this

MoU, Nigerian Artists can heave a sigh of relief," he said.


In his remarks, Otunba Runsewe described the MOU as a milestone in the

creative sector, being the first time in history that the sector will

access funds from a financial institution with a single digit interest

rate.


"Today, we have come to make a history-making presentation to the

Honourable Minister. Today happens to be a day that will create a

change and we are going to tell our story the way it should have been

told some few years ago," he said.


The NCAC DG acknowledged the leadership role of the Minister,

particularly in leveraging on the unique potential of the Creative

Industry to drive the diversification of the economy away from oil.


The Minister used the occasion to decorate some journalists with a

special pin with the inscription: "Our Culture, Our Pride", as part of

a conscious strategy to mobilise the media to promote the nation's

Creative Industry.


Segun Adeyemi

SA to Hon Minister of Information and Culture

Abuja

5 May 2017