The ruling by the Supreme Court a week ago, nullifying the National Lottery Act of 2005, is another landmark judgement favouring the gradualist move to restore true federalism.

The 1999 Constitution is widely criticised for its military-like centralised command structure which promotes injustice, especially in the economic sector and sharing of national revenues. In nullifying that Act, the Supreme Court restored the power of the states to legislate on lotteries and gaming, a valuable revenue and investment source which some states abhor on religious grounds.

The 12 states in the Muslim-majority North which operate Sharia law forbid lotteries, gambling and gaming. Indeed, Kano is one of the states which have their Hisbah Corps, Islamic morality outfits, which enforce the prohibition of the sale of alcohol and the business of lotteries and gaming within their jurisdictions.

Ironically, these states still gladly receive the revenues derived from these activities because of our largely centralised fiscal federalism. They thus reap where they do not sow, while the states that actively promote them are short-changed.

A major implication of this ruling is that any state that wishes to promote lotteries, gaming and other related activities should quickly enact their own legislations and reap the benefits, while those which abhor them for any reason can go ahead and take necessary measures.

One of the features of true federalism is that the Exclusive, Concurrent and Residual Legislative Lists categorise the areas the Federal and State Governments can legislate on. If properly followed, it allows the federating units the freedom to make laws to promote their economic, social and cultural well-being within the overall commonly agreed national ethos.

Cognisant of the fact that the centralisation of legislation over lotteries and gaming deprived it of valuable revenue and ability to run the sector to the best interests of its stakeholders, the government of former Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State had in 2008 instituted the legal action that resulted in this victory.

The Federal Government must wind up the National Lottery Regulatory Commission, NLRC, forthwith. On the other hand, states which are interested in promoting the business opportunities in the sector should also take immediate steps to enact their own regulatory laws.

This requires an urgent response to protect businesses and investments in the sector. The Supreme Court ruling has already created confusion among stakeholders in the sector. Unless immediate steps are taken, scammers could proliferate and victimise those who patronise the business.

Coming so close on the heels of President Bola Tinubu’s tax reform bills which seek to entrench justice in the distribution of Value-Added Tax, VAT, revenues, we are gradually saying good riddance to military-created federal laws that rob Peter to pay Paul.

States can now choose between the economic well-being of their residents and other primordial issues.