The National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC), at the weekend, said it has perfected measures to deter money laundering, financing of terrorism, purchasing of weapons of mass destruction and other predicate offences in the lottery industry.
According to the commission, this would help in its unrelenting effort to serve Nigeria and the industry better.
Head of Public Affairs for the commission, Mr Magnus Ekechukwu, disclosed this to journalists at the sideline of a workshop on effects of hate speech, fake news, financial and cyber crimes on national security in Nasarawa State.
Speaking on behalf of the Director-General of the commission, Mr Lanre Gbajabiamila, Ekechukwu said the commission had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the National Lottery Trust Fund (NLTF) for efficient and effective implementation of the measures.
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According to Ekechukwu, Gbajabiamila, since he assumed office, has been methodical in introducing well thought out and sustainable policies and programmes that have repositioned the 15-year-old commission which are now engendering results in terms of revenue generation, promotion and protection of stakeholders, including the stakers and most importantly, supporting the Federal Government in its fight against corruption, terrorism and insecurity.
The commission’s spokesperson said the objective of the MoU with the agencies was to strengthen and ensure transparency in the lottery industry, facilitate exchange of knowledge and expertise through training programmes and promote a better understanding of economic and legal conditions relevant to the enforcement of applicable laws and statutes.
He added that the commission is also contributing to the diversification of the economy being executed by the government of President Muhammadu Buhari saying that: “the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) is gradually becoming a major source of revenue for the country. We are working hard on this and very soon, we shall become a major revenue earner for Nigeria.
“We have already passed the billion naira mark as against the less that N600 million revenue we were earning before Gbajabiamila assumed office. With him, we shall get there, very soon. Our commitment is total.”
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