Banks To Revive National Theatre With N25bn

The Central Bank of Nigeria and the Bankers Committee plan to revive the National Theatre at Iganmu, Lagos, with about N25bn.

The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele, disclosed this during the 11th Bankers Committee retreat in Ogere, Ogun State, on Saturday.

“What the Bankers Committee is doing is to help to revive dead assets, or an asset that is dying that cannot be able to generate its potential and revenue as a result of lack of funds and good maintenance,” he said.

Earlier in 2019, after receiving the approval of the Federal Government to take over the assets, the CBN and Bankers Committee had disclosed that their plan was to develop a 40- acre Creative Industry Park around the National Theatre.

They planned to give it a facelift and reopen the touring potential the National Theatre offered during the FESTAC ‘77.

Emefiele said the CBN and the committee would work with the existing workers to put in place a maintenance culture that would help to keep the place, so that it would be a tourist attraction.

“I have been to different conferences in different parts of the world, the assets the National Theatre has is better than what we see in many of the international conferences in other parts of the world,” he said.

He said the banking sector planned to revive activities at the theatre to help create economic activities and run it, as well as to create jobs for people, particularly the youths.

Emefiele said it was important to protect the national assets.

He also said the CBN had given 15 licences to mobile money operators in 2019.