The National Theatre in Iganmu, Lagos State, has been renamed.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the disclosure on Tuesday, saying that after its renovation, the facility would be named Lagos Creative and Entertainment Center.
The minister announced this in Madrid, Spain while signing an agreement on Nigeria’s hosting of the first Global Conference on Cultural Tourism and Creative Industry.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the bilateral agreement was signed between Nigeria and United Nations World Tourism Organisation at the organisation’s headquarters.
The global conference, billed to hold between November 14 and 17th, would be the first event to be staged at the newly refurbished edifice.
“Nigeria will be hosting the event at the National Theatre in Lagos, which is currently being renovated at a cost of 100 million dollars under a partnership between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Bankers’ Committee/Central Bank of Nigeria.
“It is the first of such renovation of the iconic edifice in over four decades.
“In addition to the renovation, new hubs are being constructed within the premises of the National Theatre for fashion, Information, technology, film and music.
“With that, the National Theatre is now known as the Lagos Creative and Entertainment Centre.
“In addition, the Lagos surface rail system, to serve the National Theatre, will be commissioned ahead of the Global Conference.’’
Mohammed stated that the signing of the bilateral agreement signified Nigeria’s commitment to host the event.
He, therefore, directed that the contractors handling the reconstruction project must ensure its prompt delivery for the global event.
The minister added that he recently undertook an inspection tour of ongoing work at the facility to ensure that it is ready for hosting in November.
The construction of the National Theatre was completed in 1976.
