Sanwo-Olu Suspends LSFVCB Director Over 5% Levy On Netflix & Iroko TV Ithers

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has ordered the suspension of the Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Film and Video Censors Board, Bamidele Balogun. Balogun had written letters to several digital platforms including Netflix and Iroko TV demanding five per cent. This was done despite a Federal High Court barring the LSFVCB from levying film and video producers. Justice Chuka Obiozor of a Federal High Court had in a judgment in June 2020 stated that the LSFVCB could not be collecting taxes at the same time as the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) as it amounted to double taxation. In a statement on Friday night the Lagos Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotosho, dined imposing any 5% Levy on Audio and Visual Contents of Physical and Digital Platforms. Omotosho accused the LSFVCB director of acting without authorisation and was therefore suspended. The statement read in part, “ There is no levy on audio and visual contents of all physical and digital platforms in Lagos State. The Executive Secretary, Lagos State Film and Video Censors Board, Mr Bamidele Balogun, is said to have announced a five per cent levy. “The government hereby dissociates itself from the said announcement in the media. The Executive Secretary, who was not authorised to make such an announcement, has been suspended, pending an administrative enquiry.”