By Mashe Umaru Gwamna
The National Assembly has expressed commitment to help the National Council for Arts and Culture(NCAC)take full control of it’s permanent site in order to maximise the site for the benefit of Nigerians.
The stand was made known by members of the House Committee on unspent funds in Abuja recently.
The Members of the Committee promised to look into the recent controversy surrounding the cultural village located near Sheraton Hotels in Abuja with a view to securing the premises for NCAC.
During the investigative hearing, the Director General of NCAC, Otunba Segun Runsewe stressed the need to ward off intruders to the Art and Crafts village so that the council can put infrastructure in place to empower Nigerians.
The DG reaffirmed that if the Art and Crafts Village facility belonging to NCAC is maximized, the site could boost Internally Generated Revenue(IGR) for the Federal Government.
Runsewe reiterated that the site worth N9.8 billion belongs to Nigerians and must not be used for personal gains by unscrupulous individuals emphasizing that if put to good use, it could generate billions in IGR for the government.
Fielding questions from journalists after the session, Runsewe stressed the need to protect and defend the landed property of the council saying, “Nigerians must know that the land belongs to them and it’s not a personal thing. If that land was fully operational, it would have been giving some good IGR to the government”
Runsewe further commended the House Committee for a job well done noting with interest, its commitment to improving financial expenditures of government agencies, “we are the implementers and the committee is there to help us do our jobs better, it is not witch-hunting but part of fighting corruption and the committee can correct so many things”, he noted.
