Business

Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy Presents Budget Performance Report to National Assembly

Published

4 months ago

June 19, 2025

Joel Ajayi

The Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy has presented its budget performance report to the National Assembly, highlighting the ministry’s achievements, challenges, and future plans.

The report which was presented to the House Committee on Art, Culture and Creative Economy on Wednesday, detailed the ministry’s efforts to promote Nigeria’s cultural heritage, support the growth of the creative industry, and drive economic growth.

The ministry’s initiatives include developing a robust intellectual property policy, investing in infrastructure, and fostering collaboration with stakeholders.

The ministry’s budget performance presentation which highlighted its eight-point plan, initiatives such as Nigeria Destination 2030, skills development, policy frameworks, intellectual property protection, strategic partnerships, growth targets, digital transformation, and cultural heritage preservation was given a thumbs up by the House committee.

During the presentation, the minister, Barr Hannatu Musa Musawa highlighted the challenges faced by the ministry, including limited resources and infrastructure. Despite these challenges, she said that the ministry has made significant progress in promoting Nigerian culture and supporting the creative industry.

Musawa also emphasized the importance of collaboration and partnership in driving the growth of the creative industry.

“We cannot do this alone. We need to work together with stakeholders, including industry experts, international partners, and the National Assembly, to drive economic growth and job creation”.

The minister explained that the ministry’s initiatives are expected to have a significant impact on the creative industry, generating revenue, creating jobs, and promoting Nigerian culture globally. She stated that the ministry is also exploring ways to develop infrastructure, including a physical Bollywood-style destination, and creating a streaming platform to showcase Nigerian content.

“The ministry has also secured a grant from the French treasury to support infrastructure development, and is working to leverage international partnerships to drive growth in the creative industry” the minister said.

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry Dr Mukhtar Yawale Muhammed, MFR, mni. highlighted key achievements and budget performance in the sector as well as the ministry’s GDP contribution to the economy, tourism revenue accrued, and project implementation.

The Chairman, House Committee on Art, Culture and Creative Economy Hon. Gabriel Saleh Zok commended the ministry’s initiatives and expressed the Committee’s commitment to support the growth of the creative industry.

“We are here to access your budget performance and ensure effective utilization of funds appropriated. We expect to have a closer working relationship with the ministry”.

The interaction with the House Committee members provided insights into the Ministry’s efforts to drive economic growth and development through strategic initiatives and project implementation.

Share on Facebook

Business

TAJBank Emerges Nigeria’s Biggest Non-Interest Bank

Published

1 week ago

October 23, 2025

The Gleamer

Cyril Ogar

After five years of operations in Nigeria’s rapidly evolving non-interest banking (NIB) space, TAJBank Limited has become the biggest player in the NIB subsector based on its total assets and gross earnings values.

Disclosing this during his paper presentation on the key performance indices in the non-interest banking space over the past few years at a seminar organized by Leaders Corporate Services with the theme “Roles of Non-Interest Banks In SMEs’ Financing” for SME entrepreneurs yesterday in Abuja, an investment expert, Mr. Olabode Akeredolu-Ale, maintained that based on the non-interest banks’ approved financial statements for the half year 2025, TAJBank currently remained the biggest in terms of its total assets.

The expert, a chartered stockbroker, specifically confirmed that his recent investment researches on the NIBs and their financial performances showed that TAJBank, with its total assets rising to N1.017 trillion in half year 2025 up from N953.098 billion as of December 2024, which is about N53 billion higher than the nearest NIB’s assets, now ranked top in the banking subsector.

According to him, TAJBank’s gross earnings for H1 2025 also surged to N53.752 billion from N32.86 billion as of December 2024, representing a 64% growth, and higher than the nearest NIB’s gross earnings in the period under review.

This is even as he disclosed that on the NIBs’ earnings per share during the half year, TAJBank reported N61.36 kobo earnings per share, about 92% higher than the earnings per share of the next NIB during the period.

Akeredolu-Ale, who is also a chartered accountant, clarified: “The figures I am reeling out here on the NIBs are sourced from the banking and capital market regulatory institutions’ platforms, which anyone can access to verify.

“I am part of this event because of my research interest in non-interest banking and how the players in the subsector in Nigeria can help to leverage their competencies in innovation and ethical banking to support our MSMEs.

“Today, the MSMEs cannot access DMBs’ loans due to high lending rates and other inclement macroeconomic factors. This is where I think the NIBs have become very crucial to Nigeria’s economic growth.

“Overall, my findings on the NIBs indicated that they are all trying their best with non-interest loans to support entrepreneurs, particularly the MSMEs owners. I have advised those of them at this seminar to explore the cost-friendly financing options of the NIBs to grow their businesses by opening accounts with the NIBs”, the expert added.

Another speaker at the event, Benjamin Chukwudi, also commended the NIBs for their “catalytic roles in helping SMEs to access interest-free loans and providing them the needed financial management advisory, which have been helping them in sustaining their operations in the face of rising cost of doing business in the country.”

Share on Facebook