BY JUDE OPARA, ABUJA

If the latest submission of the Nigeria Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) is anything to go by, arrangements are in top gear to fund the nation’s sports with proceeds from lottery games.

Blessing Okagbare

Acting Director, Administration and Finance of the NLRC, Robert Boloko who gave the assurance last weekend during the official launch of the Give ‘n’ Take National Lottery Jackpot said Nigeria indeed has all it takes to generate enough fund from lottery games to effectively fund the development of sports.

Boloko further gave examples of what some other countries like the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil that have been able to do with sports lottery insisting that henceforth the story in Nigeria will not be different any more.

“Sports development as we all know is a very critical sector of the Nigerian society and so everything must be done to encourage it. We have seen what countries like South Africa, England and Brazil did with lottery fund. These countries successfully organized and hosted the World Cup and the Olympic Games. If they can do it, we too can; we have a huge population that can generate a lot of resources of which a part of it will go to the National Lottery Trust Fund.

“So I encourage Nigerians to embrace the Give ‘n’ Take lottery because they have done the necessary due diligence and we are satisfied with what they have done. However, we have advised that winners must be paid promptly.”

Earlier in his welcome remarks, the Managing Director of Give ‘n’ Take National Lottery Jackpot, Jolly Enabulele had assured that the scheme will be transparently piloted hence the decision to have the draws live on television every week.

He further explained that every week, the players get 50% of the total money recorded while 20% goes to National Lottery Trust Fund who hold and dispense the money for good causes on behalf of the government.

“Last year, I know that the Trust Fund went round the country distributing sporting equipment to secondary schools as part of the effort to develop sports from the grassroots.