THURSDAY, 14th October, 2021: The Director General of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC), Mr. Lanre Gbajabiamila has said that the country would soon witness a boom in lottery business as the transformation process of the industry commenced in 2017 has started yielding positive results.
In a press statement released on Tuesday in Abuja by the Head of Public Affairs, National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Mr. Magnus Ekechukwu, which was made available to CEOAFRICA, Gbajabiamila stated that the boom would lead to significant rise in the nation’s internally generated revenue and enhanced gains for all the stakeholders in the lottery industry as well as its value chains.
The Director General disclosed that the commission had been executing resourceful policies, measures and programs in the last four years, all aimed at improving lottery business in all aspects with great emphasis on the welfare of its workers, betterment of the stakeholders and higher revenues for the country.
Already, the Director General hinted that the policies and measures are steadily being nurtured to fruition, following which the nation would witness the big boom in the gaming industry.
Breaking it down, Mr. Gbajabiamila told journalists that on assumption of office, he commenced a transformation process that led to the restructuring of the Commission from 3 directorates to 5 directorates and 5 statutory Units, thereby creating more opportunities for career growth and progression for all staff.
Similarly, recognizing the value of the welfare of workers, Gbajabiamila said that he introduced new measures that ensured that workers are better taken care of and provided with necessary facilities and equipment for ease of performing their functions.
Not only that, Gbajabiamila disclosed that for greater motivation and enhanced performance, workers are now being promoted as at when due against the past experience of irregular and delay in promotion which was the practice before he assumed office adding that in correcting some other administrative errors within the Commission too, experts and core professionals were brought to head, some critical sections in the Commission, such as the Procurement Unit and the Legal Services Department. 
For instance, the NLRC boss explained that the huge litigation bills of the Commission have since been reduced drastically, unlike what obtained previously where the department appeared to be a cash cow for some external solicitors.
“Without sounding immodest, it is on record that no previous administration in the Commission had done better on matters of staff welfare than my regime. It is also on record that no previous administration had performed better than my administration on revenue generation for the Federal Government of Nigeria. 
“Our revenue profile has been on a steady increase, regardless of the challenges faced by the Commission while trying to perform our regulatory functions.”
Mr. Gbajabiamila stated that it was all the transformational measures that he introduced on assumption of office that led to the steady rise of the internally generated revenue of the commission that he met at less than 400m to over a billion Naira in less three months of his leadership in the commission.
He also pointed out that the historic maiden National Gaming Conference organized by the commission last July was another courageous step which had already been lauded by the stakeholders and the media, taken by the commission to move the industry forward.
He said with the recommendations of the conference being carefully implemented by the commission, Nigeria is well assured of a better, greater and more rewarding lottery business in all ramifications.
“I am glad that the process for the acquisition of the much needed Central Monitoring System for our operations is on course and the fact that the amendment of the National Lottery Act is in progress at the National Assembly where the proposal has scaled first readings at the upper and lower chambers makes me enthusiastic that the transformation of the industry would be complete in a short while and Nigeria would witness a boom in the lottery industry. “Gbajabiamila assured Nigerians.
He was full of thanks to all the critical stakeholders of the industry from the National Assembly to the Minister of Special Duties, Senator George Akume, Chairman of the Commission’s Governing Board, Alhaji Fatai Ibikunle, lottery operators and others for their continued support for the accelerated development of lottery in Nigeria.