Lagos assures content producers registration, tax payment will benefit everyone

The LSFVCB says it is working on a comprehensive policy that is being perfected.

The Lagos State Film and Video Censors Board (LSFVCB) has assured stakeholders in the entertainment industry that the planned registration of contents will serve their interests and those of the industry.

LSFVCB gave the assurance in a statement by its Head of Public Affairs, Mrs Deola Lawal, on Saturday in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the plan, which will make it mandatory for practitioners to register their contents with the LSFVCB, has generated mixed reactions in some quarters.

The board said it had noted the misgivings of some stakeholders about the planned registration, and assured them that the initiative would not, in anyway, hurt the industry or practitioners.

The board stated, "The initiative of contents registration is not a stand alone, but a part of the state government’s comprehensive, all-embracing policy initiative.

"It is designed to resolve all the challenges in the entertainment industry such as piracy, funding, and effective distribution.

"It will also promote discipline in practitioners’ associations and curb the present all comers and all systems work affairs.

"The comprehensive initiative also encompasses mass job creation, profitable investment guarantee and accelerated rural area development.

"The piecemeal announcement of contents registration was a communication gap that created the impression of a levy without corresponding benefits.

"That impression is contrary to government's plan of a rejuvenated industry that will contribute to the creative and economic wellbeing of stakeholders, investors, the public and the country as a whole."

The LSFVCB said the comprehensive policy was being perfected alongside wide consultation of the entire spectrum of the industry's stakeholders.

It, however, called on stakeholders to await the new comprehensive policy and not pre-judge it based on contents registration only, and promised to always work for what was good for the industry.