House of Representatives have moved to settle the feud between the telecommunication companies and the Nigerian creative industry.
The House adhoc committee Chairman, Hon. Ahmed Abu, disclosed this on Tuesday in an interactive session with newsmen in Abuja.
The lawmaker informed that there are some noticeable infractions and that submissions and complaints so far received by the committee suggest that the creative industry is not getting a fair deal of their intellectual properties from telecommunication companies who use them .
But in looking at the issues raised, he said, utmost care has to be exercised to ensure that the interests of shareholders of these telecommunication companies are not jeopardised while consideration is also given to the employees.
On the noticeable infractions, the lawmaker said the law stipulates that companies should maintain a pension scheme for their employees where certain amount has to be remitted per month but wonders if this aspect of the law is being complied with. Not having this for employee is a crime, he said.
He reminded that the duty of his committee is to investigate these allegations without bias and come up with appropriate legislation where necessary, to strengthen and streamline the activities of the two sectors.
Hon Ahmed noted that the creative industry can compete favourably with the telecommunication sector or any other sector for that matter and also contribute to the growth of the economy. Adding that there is need to know what our creative laws are and the extent of their implementation.
The House Committee Chairman however said, “there seems to be a deliberate effort to undermine the entertainment/creativity industry by underplaying the laws, but really, it appears the creative industry has been taking advantage of.”
Hon Ahmed emphasized that it is only fair that creative artists gain from what they produce as what they produce can help the economy to grow in line with the diversification agenda of the government
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