MrAdedayo Thomas, Executive Director of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), has called on officers of the board to maintain good working relationship with filmmakers and other stakeholders in the Nigerian film industry.

He made the call on Tuesday at a retreat on ‘Development of Strategic and Implementation Plans” of the board held at Isac Resort,Keffi,Nasarawa State.

The two-day event had in attendance Directors, Zonal Cordinators  and Centre Heads  of the board drawn from different states of the country.

According to Thomas, the NFVCB, in recent times has built a cordial relationship with filmmakers,distributors, marketers and the various guilds in Nollywood through its increased stakeholders meetings and media literacy programmes.

He therefore urged officers of the board across the country to sustain and build on the successes such cordial relationship has brought to the industry.

“The stakeholders are the reason we exist as a government regulatory body, and we must always work towards better service delivery for them through good relationship.

“Over the  past two years, I have been able to ensure that the board increase its classification by over 30 percent, which is a sharp increase to what was obtainable in the past.

 “Observation on trends in the industry shows that Nollywood producers  today have realised that the board is their partner in progress, and I will say that their  compliance rate  has increased.

“The number of approved screens has increased from 5 to 45, with Nollywood today ismaking 5 percent of Nigeria’s total GDP and has created  about 5 million jobs,” he said.

Thomas noted that  the industry was not all about entertainment, but a big business that must be encouraged and protected, to grow and bring profit to its investors.

He explained further that the board has developed  Five-Year Strategic Plan which was  presented at the retreat for detail study and contributions to ensure effective implementation.

He said the initiative was for the board to effectively deliver on its mandate and align itself with the Federal Government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, which lays out the economic blueprint of the Buhari administration.

“Planning is needed in every human endeavour, and we are all familiar with the saying that if you fail to plan,you have plan to fail.

“This is why we decided to commission a study to generate a Strategic Plan using our Vision/Mission Statements, our enabling law and operational environment as ingredients.

“With the Implementation Plan, which will be the outcome of this retreat, the old ways of doing things at the board shall be in the past,”he added.

In her remark, Alache Ode, Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of Yazal Consultants Ltd, facilitators of the retreat, commended  the NFVCB chief and his management team for  taking steps towards re-positioning the organization for better service delivery.

“I commend everyone for being a part of this laudable initiative that will turn our movie industry around for better. “The sector has contributed a lot to national economy and it will do more with the implementation of this document.”