The Director General of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Mr. Lanre Gbajabiamila has described the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Commission, Alhaji Fatai Ibikunle as the strong pillar behind the huge success the commission has recorded in the last three years.
Gbajabiamila in a statement issued on the activities of the commission, said that the contributions of the Oyo State born politician and technocrat were significant in the overall development of the regulatory commission.
The Director General who announced a number of measures already being put in place towards making lottery a major source of revenue for the country said the NLRC has benefitted immensely from the profound leadership and realistic sense of direction being given by Alhaji Ibikunle in the supervision of the commission.
He said, with the leadership of the supervising minister for the commission, Minister of Special Duties, Senator George Akume and the board chairman, Alhaji Ibikunle, the commission has been able to put a number programs in place to see that lottery becomes a major source of revenue for Nigeria.
As part of the measures, the Director General disclosed that the National Lottery Regulatory Commission was set to introduce a central monitoring system that would ensure that all earnings due to government on lottery are collected with precision.
With the new system, Mr. Lanre Gbajabiamila said that all the loopholes and drains in the lottery business would be blocked so that the entire taxes and revenues payable to government are fully collected and remitted to government coffers.
According to him, with all the measures being put in place by the commission, lottery would soon be contributing significantly to the federal treasury as it is being done in advanced countries like America, UK and Spain.
Already, the Lottery Commission boss affirmed that both the management and staff members of the commission are being prepped with trainings and enhanced welfare package for the workers for effective take off of the novel system
He stated that the commission under his leadership was totally committed to the goals of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari on the diversification of Nigeria’s economy saying that: “we have remained tirelessly ingenious in engendering means of improving on revenue earnings for Nigeria and bettering lottery business in all ramifications”.
In all these, the Director General, in the statement tagged ‘Update on NLRC’ explained that the commission placed priority on improving the capacity and welfare of staff of the commission and that is why, he said his commission put on top of the table in all its activities and projections, the implementation of a more robust condition of service for staff.
“We are always most concerned on improving the capacity and welfare of our staff in all our considerations and projections. We put the issues of welfare and capacity of welfare first. We are totally committed to implementing a more robust welfare scheme for them.
“Training and further training of staff are also sacrosanct. For the agency to grow and meet the world standards, which is our ultimate target, our workers must grow simultaneously.
“It is a thing of joy for me that the lottery industry that was more of a farce in Nigeria before I formally assumed office in 2017 is now better organized and thriving. In less than one year after I became the Chief Executive here, we started raking in billions of Naira for the government and it has continued to grow steadily since then.
“I am upbeat that in a matter of some few years, lottery shall become a major source of revenue for Nigeria. I am glad that I have a highly dynamic and supportive Minister of Special Duties, Senator George Akume supervising the commission. The Governing Board under the chairmanship of Alhaji Fatai Ibikunle too, has been awesome, while the management and staff members have shown profound dedication and commitment in the discharge of their duties. For the lottery industry in our dear country, Nigeria, the future is bright”.
