13 Oct HOUSE OF REPS PROMISE TO STRENGTHEN GAMING LAWS IN NIGERIA

HOUSE OF REPS PROMISE TO STRENGTHEN GAMING LAWS IN NIGERIA

…By Ngozi Aneke _ 09-October-2019

L-DG-NLRC-Mr.-Lanre-Gbajabiamila-NLRC-Board-Chairman-Alhaji-Ibikunle-Fatai-and-Far-Right-Speaker-House-of-Representatives-Rt.-Honorable-Femi-Gbajabiamila

L-–-R-NLRC-Board-Chairman-Alhaji-Ibikunle-Fatai-Speaker-House-of-Representatives-Rt.-Honorable-Femi-Gbajabiamila-DG-NLRC-Mr.-Lanre-Gbajabiamila

L – R Director Monitoring & Enforcement Sajo Mohammed, Board Members Abubakar Y Rajab, and Hon. Bode Ogunleye

L-–-R-Rt.-Honorable-Femi-Gbajabiamila-DG-NLRC-Mr.-Lanre-Gbajabiamila-in a handshake-after the meeting

Chairman, Governing Board of NLRC, Alh. Abdul-Fatai Ibikunle makes a presentation during the courtesy call on the Speaker of the House of Reps, Rt. Hon. Demi Gbajabiamila.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Honorable Femi Gbajabiamila has assured that the House of Representatives will give the necessary legal support to the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) through enabling legislation to aid an effective Monitoring system that is needed to enhance revenue generation in the Gaming sector in Nigeria.

Rt. Hon. Gbajabiamila made these remarks during a courtesy visit by the National Lottery Regulatory Commission Governing Board and Management team to the House of Representatives and in response to an appeal by the NLRC board Chairman on the need to look into the amendment of the National Lottery Act which amongst other things would empower the NLRC to carry out its duties effectively.

According to the Speaker, “laws are very dynamic and ought to be reviewed intermittently for effective application”. He added that he was aware of the challenges faced by the Lottery Commission in terms of not having an effective Monitoring system, numerous litigations, issues of regulatory jurisdiction between the Federal and State Governments and a host of others. In spite of these numerous challenges faced, Rt. Hon. Gbajabiamila commended the Governing Board Chairman and his team for raising revenue to a reasonable extent, although he urged them to do better by utilizing the vast population of the country.

The Speaker of the house while appreciating the team from NLRC for the visit emphasized that the Commission is an important agency in terms of revenue generation as “revenue generation is very key in financing the national budget” he said.

In his concluding remarks Rt. Hon. Gbajabiamila advised the NLRC team to put asides all forms of rancor, bitterness, internal politics, so as to ensure real progress and overall development of the Lottery industry in Nigeria.

Earlier in his speech, the NLRC Board Chairman, Alhaji Ibikunle Fatai expressed gratitude to Rt. Hon. Gbajabiamila for his warm reception. He seized the opportunity to congratulate him on his election as the Speaker of the House of Representatives; a position he said was well deserved. He stated that the Lottery Commission is a revenue-generating agency that is doing her best to increase income generation but reiterated that the NLA 2005 that set up the Commission had some deficiencies, one of which is the inability of the Commission to prosecute lottery offenders.

The Board Chairman further appealed that the Lawmakers should give the necessary legal backing and support, which would enable the NLRC to set up an effective Central Monitoring System which is critical for effective Monitoring of lottery activities.