The Minister of Special Duties and Inter-governmental Affairs, Zephaniah Jisalo, has promised to facilitate the deployment of the Central Monitoring System to prevent the loss of huge amounts of money to illegal lottery operators in the country.
This was following the complaints by the Director-General, National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Lanre Gbajabiamila, who lamented the absence of the system was affecting the revenue drive of the commission.
However, speaking during a visit to the National Lottery Trust Fund in Abuja on Wednesday, the minister assured that he would ensure that the system was deployed in the shortest possible time to allow the country to get the best from the lottery industry.
This was contained in a statement by the ministry’s Director of Press, Anastasia Ogbonna.
The statement partly read, “The minister has given assurances that he will facilitate the development of Central Monitoring System in the country to forestall loss of huge sums of money to illegal gaming operators in the country.
“The minister further assured that the CMS will be deployed as soon as possible as it will make it possible to harness the huge revenue potential in the gaming industry. ”
In her address, the permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Special Duties and Inter-governmental Affairs, stressed the need to deploy innovation, adding that the world is changing and the CMS could not be deployed at a better time than now.
She also talked about the need for constant feedback and strategic communication, adding that the Ministry looks forward to the open, honest dialogue that will genuinely strengthen the bond between NLTF and the ministry.
Earlier, the executive secretary, NLTF, Dr. Bello Maigari, said the challenges encountered by the organisation included but were not limited to corrupt practices among stakeholders, leading to mismanagement and diversion of the organisation’s revenue.
He also said state lottery agencies were being harassed, leading to disruption of activities.
Maigari noted that the organisation is also faced with the issue of multiple taxations and the request to share lottery revenues by state governments.
