The federal government on Sunday
officially handed over the National Theatre complex in Lagos to the Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and banks under the aegis of the Bankers’ Committee to
commence the renovation of the facility.
The ceremony took place at an
event held in Lagos, that had in attendance the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin
Emefiele; Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr. Sunday Dare; Minister of
Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; the CEO, Access Bank Plc, Herbert
Wigwe; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, his deputy and other top
officials in the state government.
Emefiele thanked President
Muhammadu Buhari for approving the handing over of the edifice and its
adjoining land to the Bankers Committee.
“The handover of the National
Theatre to the CBN /Bankers Committee is indeed timely when one considers the
external headwinds facing our economy today.
“The impact of COVID-19 on the
global economy and the containment measures that have been put in place to
contain the spread of the virus, has led to a slowdown in global growth which
has also affected the Nigerian economy.
“In addition to the public health
challenge, our country is faced with a revenue shock primarily driven by the 40
percent drop in crude oil prices between January
2020 and now.
“Given our dependence on crude
oil as a major source of government revenue, as well as for our foreign
exchange earnings, these challenges have served to reinforce the need for
stakeholders to promote policies and programs that will enable,” he said.
In his remarks, Mohammed
described the development as a win-win for every stakeholder, even as he
assured workers at the theatre of the safety of their jobs.
“We must transform the national
theatre to its glory days. The facility is to be transformed to international
standard. The new centre would comprise hub for fashion, music, ICT and will
have commercial and retail facilities, among others,” he added.
According to the Minister, “no
one is hijacking the national theatre, it remains our national heritage.”
Dare, said the facility would
guarantee job creation.
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