The Federal Government has handed over the National Arts Theater to the Bankers Committee for transformation into the Lagos Creative and Entertainment Centre.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, led other members of the Bankers’ Committee to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Federal Government for the handover of the National Arts Theater, Iganmu, Lagos.
The disclosure is contained in a statement from the CBN, through a series of tweet posts on its official Twitter handle on Sunday, February 14, 2021. The Minister for Sports and Youths, Sunday Dare, Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Sanwo-Olu, and Chairman, Body of Bank CEOs Herbert Wigwe were in attendance.
Speaking at the ceremony, Emefiele said that the reconstruction and refurbishment of the National Theatre as well as the proposed Lagos Creative and Entertainment Center will be completed in 15 months, with 35,000 jobs created in the process.
He said: “The idea behind the project, christened: “Lagos Creative and Entertainment Centre,” is simple. Firstly, we seek to restore the glory of an iconic building by aligning most of the fabric and equipment, and facilities in the building with the aesthetics of the 21st century, and secondly to develop an ecosystem of creative hubs on the adjoining 44Hectare parcel of land. This new facility will complement and enhance the National Arts Theatre.
Emefiele said that revamping the National Arts Theatre would unlock the creative talents of hundreds of thousands of Nigerian youths in the fields of music, movie production, fashion, and information technology.
“We anticipate that there would be at least 10,000 direct and indirect jobs created during the construction of the Lagos Creative & Entertainment Centre. We also project that over 25,000 people would be engaged in different sections of the centre when the Signature Cluster is completed, with an anticipated multiplier effect of other job opportunities” He added.
This is as the national monument, which was completed in 1976, will have Cappa & D’Alberto Limited as the main contractors, Nairda Limited as the electrical sub-contractor and VACC Limited as the mechanical sub-contractor.
The statement included that the Bankers’ Committee is providing funding for a prototype cluster located to the north of the National Arts Theatre, a development which we have labelled the “Signature Cluster”. This facility will be a convenor providing space, support network, business development, and community engagement for the creative, cultural and technology sectors. The Signature Cluster will consist of a building each for Music, Film, Fashion, and Information Technology verticals. In addition to these, a Welcome/Visitor’s Centre, Police and Fire Stations, and structured parking for up to 500 vehicles will be built.
The CBN boss was full of praises for President Muhammadu Buhari for his magnanimous approval of the handover of the National Arts Theatre, as well as the pivotal role he continued to play in providing the Nigerian youths with limitless opportunities to reach the summit of their capacities.