The Federal Government has announced plans to establish creative villages of arts in each state across Nigeria, named “Renewed Hope Creative Villages” with the goal of enhancing the creative industry and preserving historic sites.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu disclosed the plans on Thursday during a press briefing after the 147th National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, in Abuja.
Creation of “Renewed Hope Creative Villages”
According to Sanwo-Olu, the Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism, and Creative Economy has proposed the creation of historic sites to be named “Renewed Hope Creative Villages.”
The initiative, he explained, would collaborate with state governments to identify historic locations and transform them into creative hubs.
“The whole idea is for the ministry to be able to work first, with a lot of the sub nationals to identify some of these sites and identify some of these very historic locations, and see how they are adopted, into the creative villages, as a one-stop shop.
“We’ve talked about the enormous opportunities bound in the creative industry, especially with our rural historic sites and monuments. So, the whole idea around the presentation was for the ministry to put it on the front burner and for the sub-nationals to be able to work with them to identify various sites that can become what we call thriving.
“We believe the creative industry, particularly with our rural historic sites and monuments, holds enormous potential.
“The ministry aims to prioritize this initiative and collaborate with states to identify thriving sites that can generate hundreds of thousands of jobs,” he said.
Minister Edun discusses states’ indebtedness and government accounts
Also briefing at the event, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, disclosed that states’ indebtedness to the Federal Government currently stands at N16.6 billion.
Update on government financial accounts
Edun also provided updates on various government accounts: the Excess Crude Account had $424 million as of December 10, the Stabilization Account had N33.3 billion, and the Natural Resources Account held N23 billion.
States’ surplus and deficit positions
“Regarding the surpluses states have with the federal government, that figure is currently N363.4 billion, while the states’ deficit position with the federal government is approximately N16.6 billion,” Edun stated.
In addition to the discussions on creative industries and fiscal matters, the NEC meeting also disclosed that most of the 36 state governors have endorsed the creation of state police in the country.
NEC has scheduled to consider the submissions by the state governors on the creation of state police during its next meeting in January 2025.