LAGOS, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian government Monday said it is passionate about the creative industry and would grant tax relief to investors in the sector.
Yemi Osinbajo, the country's acting president, who made this known at the opening of a two-day Creative Industry Summit in Lagos, the nation's business hub, said the creative industry in Nigeria is a significant player in the economy.
"It is an industry that represents 1.42 percent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and has a huge export earning and in its own right employs millions of people. This is an extremely important sector," he added.
Osinbajo told the gathering that the creative industry contribution to the GDP is impressive when compared to the 11 percent contribution of the oil sector to the GDP.
He added that the contribution was also significant considering the fact that government had not invested so much in it as it had done on other sectors.
He said in supporting the industry, government would increase the revenue strength of the sector to make it bankable and give tax incentives to investors.
Osinbajo, however, said government would be cautious in funding the sector in order to maintain the creativity of the sector.
He said the administration would explore sustainable loans that are easily accessible and recyclable for the development of the industry.
Osinbajo stressed the readiness of the government to support the industry in its march toward creating a niche for the country in the global arena.
Earlier, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said the summit was organized to proffer solutions to the challenges of financing films, television and music industries.
He said the creative industry is a major plank of the government's economic diversification efforts and his ministry had been doing a lot to transform the industry.
The minister told his audience that with the support of government and the cooperation of stakeholders, the creative industry would create one million jobs in three years.
