Oronsaye Report: Filmmakers appeal against proposed dissolution of NFVCB

Stakeholders in the Nigerian film industry have appealed to the Federal Government not to wind down the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) as it begins implementing the Oronsaye Report.

The filmmakers, who appealed in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja, said NFVCB should be retained as the regulatory agency for the motion picture industry.

NAN reports that George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), recently directed Hannatu Musawa, Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, to begin the immediate dissolution of NFVCB.

The directive aimed to subsume NFVCB as a ministry department but bypassed the legal process required to repeal the law establishing the Nollywood regulatory agency. The development has, however, sparked reactions from stakeholders across the country.

The Nigerian Senate had also asked the Federal Government to halt the board’s winding down, citing a breach of the law.

It said the process of winding down an agency of government that came into force through an Act of Parliament should commence with the Act’s repeal. NFVCB is a regulatory body set up by Act No.85 of 1993 (now the National Film and Video Censors Board Act Cap No.40 (2004 as amended).

The board is empowered by law to regulate Nigeria’s film and video industry and classify all films and videos, whether imported or produced locally.

The board also has the duty to register all film and video outlets/cinemas across the country and keep a register of such outlets/cinemas, among other functions.

According to them, any alteration to the board’s current status, such as a merger or subsuming, will be counterproductive and impede the industry’s contributions to the national economy.

Stakeholders appeal

Veteran filmmaker Paul Apel-Papel said Nollywood was too large to be regulated without a specific agency like the NFVCB.

According to the Colorado Film School-trained filmmaker, acclaimed for directing the 2021 war action drama Eagle Wings, it plays a critical role in ensuring Nollywood keeps its sanity.

“We are not in support of subsuming or merger because we are even looking forward to a specific ministry that will focus on Nollywood properly as we grow from here. The federal government should consider how it can concentrate on Nollywood and how it is doing for agriculture because, after agriculture, the industry is the largest employer of labour.

“We are bringing revenue, creating jobs, and positively promoting the country’s image globally. Nollywood is not getting any direct support; everybody is trying to develop their craft, and then the only agency we have is the one that wants to take it back to the ministry and kill it,” he said.

Habib Mohammed, National President of the Motion Picture Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MOPPAN), said it was impossible for such a regulatory body in a critical sector to function effectively as a department.

“The move to subsume the board as part of the ministry will be a real setback to the development already achieved. Let us not forget that the board was in the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture as a department, and the creation of the board has developed the industry to where it is today. Let the policymakers have a rethink, and we are also calling on the National Assembly to stand on its feet so that the board can keep its statutory position,” he said.

Emeke Aduah, acting President of the Film Video Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria (FVPMAN), said the influx of illicit films in the Nigerian market was a menace to the industry that the NFVCB was fighting headlong.

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According to him, winding down the board will impede the momentum of the fight against illicit films, which is very dangerous to the acclaimed second-largest film industry in the world.

“I don’t think it is necessary for such scrapping because it will bring Nollywood backwards and make the industry like a child without parents or guardians. Then, the industry will become a dumping ground for all kinds of films and become a merry-go-round for piracy while genuine investors lose their investments. I wonder what kind of industry we will have left at the end of the day if the NFVCB winds down,” he said.

(NAN)