The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) has clarified that Netflix is still commissioning films from Nigerian filmmakers, albeit at a slower pace due to ongoing economic challenges.
This clarification follows a debate sparked last year by filmmaker Kunle Afolayan, who had suggested that Netflix had ceased funding Nigerian original productions.
Afolayan later explained that his comments were misunderstood.
Shaibu Husseini, the NFVCB’s executive director, addressed the matter in a recent interview on Nollywood on Radio.
He explained that during the controversy, the board, through the ministry of art, culture, and creative economy, sought clarification from Netflix.
According to Husseini, Netflix’s management confirmed that while it is scaling back investments in original films due to global economic pressures, it has not completely exited the Nigerian market.
He added that the streaming giant assured that if economic conditions improve, it may resume commissioning original content at its previous scale.
“I was sent on an errand, and when I came back, I communicated the outcome of the errand to the honourable minister. The minister spoke about the outcome of that meeting on various occasions,” he said.
“We went on a fact-finding mission. I do not want to comment on the delegation of the mission.
“First of all, we went there to find out whether the news that was making the rounds, that some producers misused money. That they were supposed to use a certain money, but they did not use it. That was not the reason.
“These guys made a business decision to scale down because of the global meltdown. But we got assurances from them that they are not out of Nigeria and are still commissioning films.
“The only thing is that they are not commissioning them on that ground scale like originals. There are films that have been lined up till 2026.
“We just got assurance that they are still around. It is just that when the economy improve, they will come back in the manner they came earlier. It is just some people saying let us restrategise.
“But if they find a content that is big enough and cuts across, they can pick it up as an original.”
