What could be termed as the break of a new dawn for cultural tourism development, the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) has formed a partnership with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) that is geared towards harnessing and promoting cultural tourism and creative industries for the economic growth of Nigeria. This new partnership is expected to create job opportunities for creatives and operators in the culture and tourism sectors…
The National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) have launched a strategic partnership aimed at unlocking the potential of Nigeria’s cultural and creative industries for sustainable development and economic growth.
This collaboration was forged at the recent joint meeting by both parties held at the Nigeria Governors Forum Secretariat, Abuja. The management of both organisations attended the meeting, with the NGF led by its Director General, Dr AbdulLateef Shittu, while NCAC team was headed by its Director General, Mr Obi Asika.
Shittu at the historic meeting underscored the Forum’s dedication to fostering good governance, economic growth, and national development. He highlighted the NGF as a unifying and non-partisan platform committed to advancing intergovernmental collaboration, innovative policy solutions, and sustainable development across Nigeria.
He also reaffirmed NGF’s mission to support governors in delivering effective governance by prioritising capacity building, evidence-based policymaking, and strategic partnerships. The Forum’s alignment with initiatives such as the newly formed partnership with NCAC reflects its commitment to strengthening sub-national governance and harnessing local resources for national prosperity.
While Asika in his remark shared the mission of preserving and promoting Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage while fostering the development of the creative economy in Nigeria. He invited the NGF to participate fully in two of NCAC’s flagship programmes; International Arts and Crafts Expo (INAC) and National Festival for Arts and Culture (NAFEST).
Asika also used the meeting to unveiled key initiatives of the Council introduced by the current administration: Innovation, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship (ICE): This flagship capacity building programme, according to him, aims to upskill up to two million Nigerians in the cultural and creative sectors by 2027, aligning with national goals for youth empowerment and job creation.
Origins: NCAC is developing this multi-faceted digital platform in partnership with private sector stakeholders to document and celebrate Nigeria’s living cultural heritage. It will serve as a global cultural inventory, intellectual property index, and connection bridge for Nigerians.
The programme has already commenced data aggregation from states, capturing diverse cultural expressions, including festivals, fabrics, cuisine, and performances.
He also disclosed the Nigeria Got Talent initiative, which is in collaboration with the globally acclaimed Got Talent franchise, NCAC is set to launch a new season in 2025. This initiative aims to showcase Nigeria’s untapped talent and cultural heritage globally.
A talent incubator will be established in all participating states, targeting the upskilling of at least 1, 000 participants per state. Asika expressed his profound gratitude to the NGF for the warm reception and fruitful discussions, reaffirming NCAC’s commitment to collaborating with the Forum to achieve shared socio-economic growth and development goals for Nigeria.
The DG of NGF requested the Council to develop and share a sub-national roadmap for the business opportunities in the cultural and creative sector that will lead to jobs and economic expansion.
NCAC and NGF have formed a high-level joint working committee to drive forward the planned collaborations and develop these frameworks. This partnership symbolises a transformative step for Nigeria, where culture and creativity are harnessed as drivers of national development.
