The Federal Government has announced plans to establish creative villages of arts across all states of the federation.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, disclosed this yesterday while briefing journalists after the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting.
He revealed that the Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism, and Creative Economy proposed the establishment of historic sites to be named “Renewed Hope Creative Villages.”
Sanwo-Olu explained that the initiative aims to identify and develop historic locations as creative hubs. According to him, “The whole idea is for the ministry to work with sub-national governments to identify these sites and transform them into creative villages as one-stop centres.
“We discussed the enormous opportunities in the creative industry, especially with rural historic sites and monuments. This initiative aims to position the sector to generate thousands of jobs.”
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, also briefed the media, revealing that states owe the Federal Government N16.6 billion.
He stated that as of December 10, the Excess Crude Account had $424 million, while the Stabilisation Account and Natural Resources Account held N33.3 billion and N23 billion, respectively.
“Surpluses that states have with the Federal Government currently amount to N363.4 billion, while the deficit stands at approximately N16.6 billion,” Edun said.
