Oronsaye Report: Filmmakers appeal against proposed wind down 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 implementation of Oronsaye Report.

The filmmakers, who made the appeal in an 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.

According to them, any alteration on the current status of the board, in form of merger or subsuming, will be counterproductive and impede contributions the industry is making to national economy.

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

According to the Colorado Film School-trained filmmaker, acclaimed for directing the 2021 war action drama film ‘Eagle Wings’, is playing critical role in ensuring that 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 think of how it can actually make a specific focus on Nollywood the way it is doing for agriculture, because after agriculture, the industry is the largest employer of labour .

“We are bringing revenue; we are creating jobs and we are positively promoting the image of the country globally.

“Nollywood is not getting any direct support; everybody is trying to develop their craft and then the only agency we have they want to take it back to the ministry and kill it,” he said.

Habib Mohammed, National President, Motion Picture Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MOPPAN), said is it was not possible 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 for the board to keep its statutory position,” he said.