The government’s plan to use lottery as a wealth generator, minister said: “The industry has generated quite a large number of jobs for Nigerians in the last few years a number that is likely to grow to over 10million due to the population and size of the Nigerian economy. Though it is not yet a reality, we are doing everything humanly possible to revitalize this industry which hold great promise for Nigeria in raising enormous revenues and creating job opportunities for youths and help actualize President Bola Tinubu’s led government renewed hope agenda.
“I am delighted to inform you that the government will provide the National Lottery Trust Fund and other relevant agencies the necessary support to improve on all policy frameworks required to change the face of lottery and gaming industry in the country by significantly increasing lottery revenue to government in a bid to make lottery more productive and beneficial to Nigerians.”
Jisalo, however, urged licensed organizations in the lottery business to comply with statutory obligations to avoid being sanctioned.
He said: “Accordingly, all persons and organizations licensed to engage in national lottery business should be ready to meet up with their statutory obligations to avoid being sanctioned. Consequently, government is committed in ensuring that returns obtainable from other non-oil sources of revenues are maximized, hence lottery is one of such alternative revenue sources that this government has identified and is determined to make it more productive and sustainable. As the sector becomes firmly established, it is our expectation that lottery will be included in the strategic plans of the nation.”
Gbajabiamila donates books, laptops, others to Surulere schools
Earlier, head of the planning committee, Back to School Jump Start Project, Miss Adaku Apugo, said the project, initiated by the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, had impact the lives of 46 schools in the constituency since its inception in March 2022
She explained that the primary goal of the project is to empower children going back to school “through better educational delivery and assurance of safety.”
Apugo said: “To shed a bit of light on our journey so far and how we got here. This initiative was launched in March 2022, two years after the Federal Ministry of Education approved the closure of schools as a response to the pandemic, disallowing the resumption of the third academic term of the current school calendar.
It was created to jump start public schools in Surulere Federal constituency, as they resume school with the primary goal to empower children going back to school through better educational delivery and assurance of safety.
“Due to this launch, the Back to School Jump Start Project was able to impact the lives of 46 schools in the constituency.
“Notwithstanding the success of the first phase of the Back to School Jump Start Project, the Nigerian Educational System still grapples with multiple factors that have negatively impacted the education of millions of children.
“The reality is that teachers as well as children do not have access to the basic tools necessary for e-learning, hence the educational system suffers and will continue to suffer if we do not take proactive steps to ensure that teachers and students are provided with the key tools that they need to thrive.
“Fortunately, rooted in the National Lottery Trust Funds, its mission is a commitment to complement the efforts of government in improving the quality of life for all Nigerians through the investment of lottery funds in innovative projects that responds to the needs of the people. As such, we saw a convergence of purpose and intent and strong basis for partnership.
“This laudable project is part of our collective responsibility to continue to impact the lives of our nation’s youths by helping to boost Nigeria’s educational sector. We recognize that educational gaps still can exist within the sector and we seek to address some of these gaps and improve the current capacity of schools by providing assistance in promoting Best Practices through the Back to School Jump Start Project Phase II.
“The Jump start project phase II implementation has identified the following four strategic priority areas to make this intervention a success (1) Classroom infrastructure; (2) Sanitary facilities (3) Stationery and (4) the deployment of a national Learning Management Systems (LMS) for e-learning. These priority areas constitute a comprehensive hierarchy of the challenges faced by the public educational system and the solutions that prepare us for the future.
“As far reaching as the goal is to make sure that no school is left behind in Surulere Federal Constituency of Lagos state, the entire forty-six junior and secondary public schools have been selected to be beneficiaries of this programme.
“As we implement the second phase of this project here in Surulere, I would like to express my sincere and profound appreciation to all whose tireless and unwavering effort contributed to making this project a reality. My appreciation first goes to my principal the indefatigable chief of staff, the sparkling speaker of the 9th House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila at whose instance the school jumpstart project was conceived.
“My gratitude also goes to our implementation partners Initiative for leadership development and change, the entire planning committee and support staff from the office of the Speaker of the National Assembly, and a very sincere gratitude to the National lottery Regulatory commission.