Plans underway for national arts endowment, motion picture council

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said there are plans to set up the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and establish the Motion Picture Practitioners Council of Nigeria, (MOPPICON). According to a release, the minister said the NEA when established will ensure sustainable funding for all the genre of the arts. […]

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said there are plans to set up the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and establish the Motion Picture Practitioners Council of Nigeria, (MOPPICON).
According to a release, the minister said the NEA when established will ensure sustainable funding for all the genre of the arts.
The release informed that a copy of the draft bill on the establishment of the NEA is being forwarded to the Federal Ministry of Justice with plans for the minister to fast-track the realization of the endowment in order to guarantee sustainable development of the creative sector.
The establishment of the NEA is expected to tackle the challenge of funding for the creative arts sector while MOPPICON, will regulate, administer and control the motion picture practice in Nigeria.
Alhaji Mohammed stated that 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, was in the works.
The minister who said it was unacceptable that there are eight pirated works to two original works out of every ten works in the market, promised to partner with industry stakeholders to tackle the challenges bedeviling the sector, with regards to piracy, distribution, funding, and the re-organization of the regulatory agencies.