Bankers Committee To Renovate National Theatre With N20b

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr Godwin Emefiele said on Saturday that the Bankers Committee would spend N20 billion to carry out maintenance works at the National Art Theatre, Lagos

Emefiele told newsmen at the end of the 11th session of the Bankers Committee meeting in Ogere, Ogun, that the committee was appreciative of President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval for the improvement and redevelopment of the asset.

The Bankers Committee is the umbrella body of CEOs of commercial banks and the CBN officials.

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The theme for the meeting is: “Delivering Inclusive Growth: Leveraging Digital Finance”.

“Aside from the redevelopment of the National Theatre, four hubs will be built around it, which will be developed and funded by the Bankers Committee.

“These four hubs are IT, fashion, music and Nollywood.

“Bankers Committee itself has its own funds that it has set aside; nothing less than N20 billion is going to be spent to carry out the maintenance.

“Not just the development of the hub but also, develop interest.

“This will help create economic activities around the National Art Theatre and then present it as an opportunity to create jobs for people, particularly our youths,’’ Emefiele said.

He said that the committee would help revive the dying asset that is currently not well maintained, not tapping its potential fully and lacking good maintenance.

The apex bank governor also said that there were no plans to sack staff members of the national theatre.

“However, we will work with them and put in place the maintenance culture and arrangement that will make the national theatre and the hubs around it a tourists’ attraction.

“I repeat, we had attended different conferences in different parts of the world, the potential that the national theatre possesses is more and better than some of the conference centres we saw in different parts of the world.’’

The governor noted that a larger percentage of the Nigerian population were youths, who are jobless and could not live a better life.

He said God endowed these youths with innate skills, which should be unleashed.

He urged the people to cooperate with the committee so that, through it, jobs could be created and economic activities boosted.