I WILL INCREASE FUNDS FOR ARTS, LIBERALISE ACQUISITION PROCESS, SAYS ATIKU

Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Saturday promised to increase funds for the arts and liberalise the process of its acquisition once elected in the forthcoming elections.

Atiku made the promise during a special roundtable discussion with Nigeria’s creative cultural and innovative industry stakeholders in Lagos.

The meeting was aimed at strengthening the country’s booming entertainment space and cultivating more unifying support in championing Nigeria’s creative expression.

The presidential candidate acknowledged that the creative industry was a vital industry capable of immense wealth creation and generating huge employment opportunities.

He said such an industry should not be toyed with as it had been identified as the second most important sector after agriculture.

I commend the presentations so far, I understand your challenges which I am also facing because I own a television and radio station, I face the same problem of access to water and electricity as well as bad roads, so I want you to regard me as one of you.

“The way forward is to increase funds for the arts and liberalise the process of acquiring that fund, if you give me the opportunity, I will do it because it is essential.

“I reject direct CBN intervention and encourage the private sector to be part of this, the government cannot develop all the funds needed.

“I look forward to a close collaboration with you on how we can develop the sector and exploit its potential, it is a multi-billion income-creating sector.

“If we work together, we can make it, I look forward to another meeting before the elections to agree on some modalities on how things will be done,” he said.

Atiku commended the patriotic zeal of the private practitioners in the creative sector in the face of numerous obstacles trying to hinder their progress.

Also, Ifeanyi Okowa, the PDP vice presidential candidate, said all requests made by the practitioners in the creative sector would be properly articulated just as promised by Abubakar.

Dr Okowa disclosed that the newly built Film Village in Asaba would be launched by December.

He said there were plans to ensure that practitioners in the creative industry ran it, as the government would not be in the best position to do that.