Senate calls on Nigerian government to suspend winding up of National Film Board

The Senate on Tuesday called on the federal government to suspend the winding up of the National Film and Video Census Board (NFVCB).

This followed the adoption of a motion titled: “Urgent need to stop violation of NFVCB”, moved by Senator Ogoshi Onawo during a plenary sitting in Abuja.

In his presentation, Onawo expressed concern over a directive by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, to immediately wind up the agency.

Akume had ordered the Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Industries, Hannatu Musawa, a few weeks ago to begin the immediate dissolution of the NFVCB.

The directive sought to incorporate the NFVCB as a department within the ministry, but bypassed the necessary legal process to repeal the law establishing the agency.

In the plenary session, the MP expressed concern that the SGF’s directive was contrary to the National Film and Video Censors Board Act Cap No. 40 of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 (as amended).

He condemned the instruction to the ministry to complete the administrative and financial process to dissolve the NFVCB within three weeks with effect from June 21.

According to Onawo, the process of winding up a government agency created by an Act of Parliament should first begin with the repeal of the Act that created the said agency.

He said: “The Oronsaye report is a committee report and should not override an Act of Parliament.

“If this abuse of the law is not punished, it would set a bad precedent for the future.”

“This illegality must be stopped by insisting that the proper procedure for winding up a public agency is followed.”

In his intervention, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Solomon Adeola, called for compliance with the rule of law in this matter.

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“The law cannot continue if the authorities are abolished. The necessary must be done to repeal these laws,” he said.

In his brief, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said the dissolution of the NFVCB would have been a violation of the Act of Parliament.

He added that the National Assembly was not aware of the implementation of the Oronsaye report.

Akpabio said: “If the President wants to implement Oronsaye’s report, due process must be followed.

“This means that all existing parliamentary bills must be referred to Parliament for further scrutiny.”

According to him, the President can only proceed with implementation once Parliament has given its approval.

“Only when Parliament agrees with you can you start implementing it,” he explained.

The Senate then called on the SGF and the Minister to suspend the winding up of the NFVCB.

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