The controversial creative sector bill, allegedly championed by one Colonial Felix Alaita , a Senior Special Assistant in the presidency on Country Risk Assessment and Evaluation does not enjoy the support and approval of the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji lai Mohammed, a syndicated industry investigation Report authoritatively has revealed.
The bill in its fifth draft cycle ecosystem, and which proposed to home a special exclusive Commission under the presidency, is seen by close and reliable sources close to the Minister of Culture as a cats and dogs game, injurious to government determined effort to check proliferation of departments and agencies, many which discharges same policy matters, thus engendering rifts and rancor.
Ministry of Information and Culture sources privy to the clandestine efforts to present the bill as an executive document, informed Industry syndicated investigation Report that the minister refused to append his signature to the proposed bill , thus throwing the influencers under the bus and confused.
Last Sunday in lagos, the troubled team behind the bill, sought to vulcanise the opinion and support of creative industry stakeholders to buy in to the project which again ran against inclusiveness expectations of the industry, particularly of the fact that the bill has under gone a fifth draft cycle without the knowledge of stakeholders.
Industry syndicated investigation Report team who attended the lagos meeting, observed that most sub sectoral players in attendance and who reacted to the development, wondered why it took the bill facilitators such a long time to call for their inputs, noting that the foundation to drafting the bill was faulty and also at variance with existing Operational environment of many agencies in the Ministry with similar and multiple interests in the creative sector .
Colonial Alaita told his worried and suspicious guests that the bill and the proposed Commission, will help attract funding, research grants and protect the sector from foreign exploitative interests. He told his audience that the commission, will birth before May 29, before the new government and therefore, all hands must be on deck to process the executive bill.