Reps demand list of all the functional museums in Nigeria.     

.Say many agencies have overlapping mandate and should merge.                   

.We need a strong legislation to work-Rusewe.

Jonas Ezieke, Abuja

The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on the Overlapping Mandate of Government Agencies on Tuesday demanded that the National Commission for Museums and Monuments MCMM provide the panel a comprehensive list of all the functional museums in Nigeria for a review of laws

The House Ad-hoc Committee had invited the National Commission for Museums and Monuments NCMM, the National Council for Arts and Culture, the Nation’s Gallery of Arts and the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation NTDC on the issue of overlapping mandate of these agencies

Chairman of the probe panel Hon Victor Mela (Danzaria) who issued the directive to the Director-General of the NCMM Prof. Abba Tijani said that the agencies should justify their existence and annual budgets.

He further said that the committee was mandate by the House to look at identity of these agencies that have very similar or duplication of their roles.

According to the House probe panel leader, the invited agencies should be able to answer three important questions viz: what are you doing?, how are you doing it and why do you think you should remain?

But the DG in a remark at the hearing said that the the National Commission for Museums and Monuments is established to ensure preservation of the national works of arts.

He told the lawmakers that the NCMM is a strategic parastal of government that has 53 museums, 65 national monuments and 2 world heritage sites.

But the lawmakers said that there is need for a review of the enabling laws that gave birth to the existence of the agency.

On his own part, the Director-General National Council for Arts and Culture Otunba Olusegun Runsewe told the lawmakers that there is no need to merge the agencies in the culture and tourism with those of in the hospitality.

He added that the agency had been working and is still instrumental in the task of promoting tourism and arts in the country.

While calling for a very strong review of the laws establishing the agency, he also informed the lawmakers that as the head of the agency, he had visited over seventy (70) world tourism sites.

Nonetheless, the Committee chairman and other lawmakers notably Hon.Dr. Chinyere Igwe (Rivere,PDP) said that the committee will undertake a wholistic review of the laws establishing these agencies to ensure they are still relevant