Abubakar Siddiq Ibn Usman
The Federal Government has secured a €100 million concessionary funding facility from the French Treasury to support Nigeria’s creative infrastructure, expanding the initial package from €35 million.
This was revealed by the Minister of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, during the eighth edition of the Ministerial Press Briefing Session in Abuja.
Musawa described the agreement as part of a broader drive to attract public-private partnerships and unlock capital for the creative economy. The French funding deal is one of several initiatives undertaken since the ministry’s creation in November 2023 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The minister also announced the establishment of the Creative and Tourism Infrastructure Corporation (CTICo), recently approved by the Federal Executive Council. The CTICo aims to attract $100 billion in investment and create over two million jobs by 2027.
Already, Musawa disclosed that 500,000 jobs have been created in the music industry alone, with a total of 577,754 jobs reported across the entertainment, cultural, and tourism sectors in 2024. A further 23,221 jobs were created through 20,000 new cultural and creative startups.
Key regional hubs like Lagos, Edo, Delta, and Plateau are playing pivotal roles in driving growth through micro-enterprises and self-employment.
Musawa also highlighted key milestones, including:
A $200 million funding commitment from Afreximbank.
A partnership with Creative Park Limited to develop Africa’s first creative city on 26 hectares in Abuja’s IDU Industrial Area.
The establishment of the Nigerian Academy of Cultural Studies (NACUS) with campuses in Ogbomoso, Calabar, Lagos, and Abuja.
Launch of the D30 Data Platform, an open-source tool developed with BigWin Philanthropy.
A national museum renovation initiative to preserve cultural heritage.
Meanwhile, Musawa joined other ministers in debunking media reports that the briefing session had been moved from Abuja to London. Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, dismissed the claim as false, affirming the government’s commitment to transparency and local engagement.
“We invite ministers to speak to Nigerians directly from the National Press Centre here in Abuja,” Idris said. “The claim about relocating abroad is baseless.”
Idris also highlighted improvements in economic indicators, citing the National Bureau of Statistics’ April 2025 report which showed inflation declining to 23.71% from 24.23% in March. Monthly inflation fell by 2.04%, while food inflation eased to 21.26%.
“These numbers show that hard decisions are beginning to bear fruit,” he said, crediting Tinubu’s reforms for the progress.
Minister of Works, David Umahi, echoed Idris’ dismissal of the London report, saying he had not visited the UK in two years and denied any knowledge of an international media briefing.
He provided an update on infrastructure spending, revealing that N2.2 trillion had been invested in 289 road projects in two years, including N208 billion on 260 palliative roads and over N2 trillion on 29 major projects. A total of 440 road projects are ongoing nationwide.
Umahi stressed the government’s commitment to boosting local engineering talent, noting a new programme to engage unemployed civil engineers in federal projects.
“Mr. President directed us to grow local contractors and engineers. We’ve introduced concrete pavement to reduce construction fraud and ensure quality,” he said.
He also reiterated plans to toll critical road corridors such as Abuja-Kano, Port Harcourt, Lagos-Calabar, and Sokoto-Badagry to ensure sustainability.
“We can’t rely solely on budgetary allocations to maintain infrastructure. Tolling is essential for sustainable development,” Umahi stated.
The coordinated briefings reflect the administration’s push to highlight achievements across economic reforms, infrastructure, and the creative sector, all key pillars in the president’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
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Rabiu M. Hamza
Agency News
