By By, Uchechukwu Ugboaja
The controversy surrounding the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) appears to have taken a new twist following a revelation made by a civil society advocate, Comrade Ikechukwu Norbert who stated that Lanre Gbajabiamila should be prosecuted for illegally occupying the office of Director General of the NLRC before being screened by the Senate.
In an exclusive chat with our investigative reporter in the Portharcourt South-South of Nigeria, during the convergence of League of Civil Society Groups, Comrade Norbert lauded the Senate for its timely intervention of rescuing one of the nations potential top revenue generators from the hands of selfish political jobbers.
According to the Comrade who preferred to be described as a social conscience crusader, he insisted that the Senate in their wisdom took the right decision by removing the illegal installation of the former Lagos State Lottery Czar, who throughout his tenure failed to remit a dime to the federal government coffers through the National Lottery Trust Fund (NLTF) despite being accrued to the tune of billions of Naira over the period of years in view.
He said, “Why should someone like Gbajabiamila who was in charge of the Lagos State Lottery Board for several years in which billions of naira were generated under his watch yet he deliberately refused to remit what is accrueable to the federal government and then today he expects to be rewarded by the same federal government which he systematically undermined.”
He went further to state that, “Nigeria must be seen as a nation of laws and not of men if we are to stand tall amongst the comity of nations in the world. Infact Mr. Gbajabiamila’s refusal to subject himself to the screening of the Senate before before occupying such a sensitive office reveals that he has a lot to hide from Nigerians about his antecedents and his real intentions because if we are to consider the implications of his actions under the law it is a clear attempt to undermine our constitution which empowers the Senate to screen any individual nominated by Mr. President for any government office.”
To say the least it is an obvious violation of due process as I will call on the appropriate authorities to go further and prosecute him and any individual that must have aided him in this act of violation of due process.”
It must be noted that Mr. Lanre Gbajabiamila is known to be the brother of the House of Representatives Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila who since his loss of the position of Speaker of the House to Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara has not relented in his battle for relevance in the green chambers as this may also be another failure in his long list of political maneuverings.
The Social conscience Crusader further lamented why the President Muhammadu Buhari administration have failed to give opportunities to credible and trusted men and women who have risen through the ranks of the civil service to head their various parastatals and Agencies for better performance and efficiency.
In his words, “The National Lottery Regulatory Commission just a many other agencies of government have credible men and women who have the prerequisite experience, knowledge, proven track record of performances, and the right professional attitude to take the their agencies to the next level such as the Head of Administration and Finance Mr. Robert Bolokor and several others, rather than resort to the appointment of political lackeys and jobbers whose mindset is skewed towards doing the bidding of their political godfathers and benefactors at the detriment of the Nation.”
Mr. Lanre Gbajabiamila jumped the gun in his overzealous approach to occupy an office he hasn’t been duely screened for and also continued to execute projects within the short period he illegally stayed before being unceremoniously ousted by the Senate, that in itself is a criminal offence and he must be prosecuted if President Buhari’s fight against corruption is not to be made a mockery of before the entire world.”
Comrade Nobert who also doubles as a vibrant member of the National Youth Council of Nigeria insisted that more revelations about the activities of the NLRC and the NLTF will soon be revealed to the media very soon as it is expedient for the government to tap into the opportunities that abound in lottery activities since it had remained largely untapped given the need for the government to diversify its revenue base away from oil and gas.
“The government need to look into activities within the lottery world as it can serve as an alternative to oil and gas if well organised because there are several countries that depend solely on lottery as their major means of revenue and they are doing very well even better than us who have abundant natural resources,” he said.
