The federal government has charged Lotto Operators across the country to increase remittances to it to enable it utilise such revenues generated from the Lotto industry, to meet the socio economic needs of Nigerians and thereby lift them out of poverty.
The Minister of Special duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Senator
George Akume gave this charge in a meeting with Lottery Operators in his office Monday 20, January 2020.
The lottery business, he noted, has grown from a humble beginning to be a multi-billion Naira industry and as such government is interested in harnessing wealth in the Lottery industry for the socio economic development of Nigerians. He urged them to be innovative by developing games that will excite Nigerians.
He lamented that some operators are indebted to the federal government from 2007 to 2017 and appealed to them to clear their outstanding debts to enable government plough same for good causes in line with the mandate guiding the establishment of the National Lottery Trust Fund.
He reiterated that the federal government is making progress against all odds in the provision of rail transportation, power, road construction and the Social
Investment Programme.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Festus N.Y. Daudu said that the essence of the meeting was to interact with the operators to see how government can wade in to tackle the challenges faced by operators as they are not meeting up with Lottery obligations as enshrined in the Lottery Act of 2005.
Lottery Operators and Regulators seized the opportunity of the meeting to call for the amendment of the National Lottery Act as it is not realistic in view of challenges faced in the industry today.
In addition to this, they advocated for a legal framework to resuscitate and sanitise the industry.
