By Adie Vanessa Offiong
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has inaugurated a ministerial committee on the review of the Motion Pictures Council of Nigeria (MOPICON) draft document.
The minister said during the week in Lagos that the inauguration is a fulfillment of the promise he made at the 3rd edition of Kannywood Awards in Abuja to set up a ministerial committee to review the MOPICON document with a view to fast-tracking its passage into law.
“I have heard all the arguments for and against MOPICON. Some have argued that government has no business in helping Nollywood to set up a self-regulatory structure. I want to state here that in line with our overall responsibility for the nation’s information, culture and tourism policies, our role in helping to set up MOPICON is simply to enable Nollywood to play meaningful role in national development,” the minister said.
“One of the ways we think we can tackle frontally the many challenges militating against professional and career fulfillment in the movie industry is to have a central body we can always refer to in decisions aimed at improving and modernising the motion picture industry,” Mohammed said.
“Also, government’s interest in the setting up of MOPICON is driven by the fact that we at the supervising ministry need to work with a formidable representative group that is empanelled to lobby for the growth, development and welfare of the industry and its practitioners as well as make for a better organised and more visible and vibrant Nollywood industry. We have no hidden agenda and we will not be part of anything that will stifle the growth of the burgeoning industry,” he said.
Members of the 29-strong committee include Peace Anyiam Osigwe (coordinator), Mahmood Ali Balogun (deputy coordinator), Anthony Anih (deputy secretary), Afam Chiazor (National Society of Cinematographers) Fidelis Eweta (Editors Guild), Biodun Abe (Creative Designers Guild) and Fred Amata (DGN) among others.
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