The Executive Secretary of Lagos State Film and Video Censors Board agency (LSFVCB), Mr. Bamidele Balogun has been suspended by the Lagos State Government for signing a memo announcing a five percent levy on all visual and audio content produced in the state.
A memo titled: “Implementation of 5% levy on all audio and visual content on all physical and digital platform”, signed by Mr. Balogun had recently gone viral.
The Commissioner for information and strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso in a statement on Saturday denied the claim in the memo that the Lagos state government gave the directive for the announcement.
According to the statement, “The Executive Secretary, Lagos State Film and Video Censors Board, Mr. Bamidele Balogun, is said to have announced a 5% levy. The Government hereby dissociates itself from the said announcement in the media”.
“The Executive Secretary, who was not authorised to make such an announcement, has been suspended, pending an administrative inquiry.
“The fifth pillar of the THEMES Agenda, the development policy of this administration, is Entertainment and Tourism. Practitioners are partners in our effort to ensure that Lagos State remains Africa’s leader in entertainment.”
The commissioner reiterated that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration is well aware that the industry has been seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr. Omotosho, who revealed that an administrative inquiry has been set up to investigate the motives behind the purported move also urged stakeholders in the industry to disregard the memo.