Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has thrown more light on the proposed $500 million loan that the federal government intends to take.
Speaking to journalist yesterday, the Minister debunked the claim, saying that in an era of social media, the real news is usually sacrificed on the altar of sensationalism and disinformation.
He said it is wrong for a section of the media to report that the loan is being sought for the NTA alone and disclosed that the fund is for three major projects
One, to construct a headquarters complex and transmission network for Integrated Television Services (ITS), the FG-owned signal distributor that is a major component of the country’s Digital Switch Over (DSO).
Two, to build an ultra-modern media City in Ikorodu that will have the following facilities, Indoor/Outdoor shooting area, Animation Production Facility, Digital Media Training Centre, World-Class Cinema, Four-Star Hotel, an Amusement Park and Amphitheater.
Mohammed, who further disclosed that part of the loan would go for acquisition of digital movie production equipment for rental and power system, a media city training academy that will be only the second of its type in Africa, also said that part of the fund would go for the digitisation of all NTA stations, including the headquarters, its 12 zonal stations, the 36 state capital NTA stations and 76 community stations.