Where is the Remaining N1.9 Billion of the Project Act Nollywood Fund?
Where is the Remaining N1.9 Billion of the Project Act Nollywood Fund?
The laudable Project Act Nollywood was initiated and launched by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The Project ACT Nollywood was a N3 billion-grant programme set up by the Federal Government for the sustainable development of the Nigerian film industry.
Over 200 practitioners benefited from the training in TV and film productions in local and foreign film schools with the majority traveling overseas in controversial circumstances, because there was really no need for them to travel overseas for special short term courses on filmmaking which they could have studied in the accredited film schools in Nigeria. But they just wanted to go on ego trips with free money from the federal government.
The Innovative Film Distribution Programme of the fund was for the establishment of an effective film distribution system and the prevention of piracy. The federal governent received 383 completed applications and 348 were prequalified applications and 150 of the applicants were interviewed.
A committee was set up to review the project and report to the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture (FMIC) in 2016. Members of the committee included Hauwa Maina, Norbert Ajeagbu, Chioma Ude, Gab Onyi Okoye, Chief Osita Okeke, Otunba Aina Kushoro, Madu Chikwendu, Ralph Nwadike, Idris Bahodu, Abdulkareem Mohammed and representatives of the (FMIC), National Film and Video Censors Board, Nigerian Copyright Commission, the World Bank, NEXIM Bank and Bank of Industry, the Nigerian Film Corporation and the Project Implementation Unit of Project Act.
Read about the committee and disbursements of the grants on
The federal government reported that 113 film projects, employing 2,436 people were co-financed through grants from the fund at the cost of N799 million. But till date, the identities of the beneficiaries who were given from N5 million to N15 million each for TV and film productions have not been revealed and there were cases of misappropriations of the funds by the beneficiaries in Nollywood who took advantage of the grants at the disadvantage of the filmmakers in Kannywood.
The disbursement of the N1.9 billion, which is what is left of the Project Act Nollywood fund was never done and there is no report on what happened to the money.
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