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New board will run the National Theatre after renovations – GM
Prof. Sunday Ododo, General Manager of the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos has disclosed that a new board would be set up to run the 44-year-old complex when the ongoing renovation is completed.
Ododo made the disclosure during a courtesy visit to his office by Mr Ephraims Sheyin, Head of Lagos Operations of the News men.
“There is an arrangement in place called ‘Theatre Partners,’ which brings the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Information and Culture, and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Bankers Committee together, as partners.
“With the new arrangement, the board, which will be made up of five members, will oversee the affairs of the new National Theatre.
“Two of the members will come from the Federal Government, with another two from CBN Bankers Committee.
“One of the two from the Fedeal Government will be the General Manager/Chief Executive Officer of the complex, while the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture will appoint the second person who will be the Chairman of the board.
“The CBN Bankers Committee will also supply two members. Four of us will sit and headhunt a facility manager who will manage the new facility.
“Whoever is appointed will join four of us at the board as the fifth person,” he told Newsmen.
Ododo, however, said that the new arrangement would not affect the mandate of the National Theatre to project and preserve the national cultural heritage and present same to both Nigerians and people worldwide.
He said that the National Theatre also had a mandate to hunt for talents and make them fruitful for professional engagement.
Ododo assured Lagos residents that the ongoing renovation, which he said was showing “visible progress”, would not affect activities at the food court area of the National Theatre, popularly referred to as “Abeigi.”
Earlier, Sheyin had called for a closer relationship between the two organisations which, he noted, were members of one family.
He commended the Federal Government for the Private-Public-Partnership that would ensure the injection of N21.8 billion by the CBN into the complex, and expressed optimism that the renovation would give the nation’s economy a huge lift.
Recalls that the Federal Government recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Central Bank for the total renovation of the National Theatre.
Report said that Ododo was telling newsmen recently that the renovation would create more than 16,000 jobs directly and indirectly, when completed.
He explained that the jobs would come in the fields of music, fashion, film and information technology.
Information minister Lai Mohammed signed the MoU on behalf of the government while CBN governor Godwin Emefiele signed on behalf of the bankers’ committee.
As President Bola Tinubu’s tenure as the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the ECOWAS elapses on July 9, 2024, presidents and representatives of 12 member states are currently meeting at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja, for the 63rd Ordinary Summit.
The meeting, which began at 1pm, would likely see the West African leaders announce a new chair to steer the affairs of the bloc for the next one year.]
However, there are indications that leaders may extend Tinubu’s tenure to give him time to possibly win back Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso into the bloc.
Details later…
Gov. Ahmad Aliyu of Sokoto State has directed local government Chairmen and Local Government Education Authority officials who tampered with the N30,000 sallah gifts to return the money.
This is contained in a statement issued by Malam Abubakar Bawa, the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Aliyu on Sunday.
‘The money was given to the workers in the state and some unsculous staff diverted the funds and they have been directed to return it immediately or face serious consequences.
“I wonder how somebody would deny our workers the stipends we gave them in order to make them financially stable during the Sallah festive season.
“Those who diverted those funds must return them immediately or else we will take serious punitive measures against them.
” We will ensure that the culprits reap what they sowed to serve as a deterrent to others, ” he warned.
Meanwhile, the state government has declared Monday as a public holiday in recognition of the Islamic New Year of Hijrah calendar.
Bawa announced that Monday would be observed as a public holiday throughout the state to enable people of the state to celebrate the new Islamic year 1446AH.
He further stressed the need for the Muslim Ummah to use the new Islamic calendar for a sober reflection and to carry out a self assessment to see where they have gone wrong with a view to making corrections in this new year.
The Federal Government has assured Nigerians that it is addressing incidents of rail derailment in the country, through proactive measures.
The Minister of Transportation, Sen. Said Alkali gave the assurance in a statement he personally signed and made available to newsmen on Sunday in Abuja.
`The recent incidents involving our trains are currently being addressed through proactive measures.
“ a significant number of such incidents were the direct result of incidents of vandalism and criminality along the rail tracks by deviants who do not wish our country well.
“ I wish to also direct that all stakeholders in safe and secure operations in the railway industry should immediately put their best foot forward for continuous service to our people and our dear motherland, “ Alkali said.
Speaking on the July 4 rail derailment between Itakpe in Kogi and Warri in Delta, the Minister said he has directed investigations into the incident, as well as safety and welfare of all passengers on board.
“My attention has been drawn to the reports of derailment of some coaches of a scheduled train service operated by the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) between Itakpe, Kogi State and Warri in Delta State, which happened on July 4.
“Upon receipt news of this unfortunate incident and enquiries made, my observation is that the unfortunate incident did not result in any fatalities.
“The incident occurred at Ujewhu near Abraka in Delta State at about 7.15pm on Thursday night.
“ I have directed the NRC, as the operator, to immediately ensure the safety and welfare of all passengers on board the train, “ he said.
Alkali assured that NRC would evacuate the distressed coaches from the tracks in order to guarantee resumption of services as soon as possible and produce a comprehensive report of the incident for his consideration.
According to him, NRC had commenced steps in the above direction and all indications point to the fact that normalcy was gradually being restored on the service.
The minister sympathised with all persons who were on board the train at the time of the incident and further assured the general public, particularly those patronising the train services of their safety and welfare
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