IGR : Reps To Audit National Lottery Trust Fund

By Oduyemi Odumade

The House of Representatives Committee on Finance has placed the National Lottery Trust Fund on status enquiry for spending 100 percent of its internally generated revenue (IGR).

This means the Committee will appoint an external auditor to audit the accounts of the Fund and the report would be made available to the House for further action.

The Chairman of the Committe, James Faleke also directed the Fiscal Responsibility Commission and the Office of the Accountant General to also probe the Fund and submit their reports to the Committee.

He stated this when the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Fund, Bello Maigari, appeared before the Committee in the ongoing 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper interactive session with Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

Presenting his submission on remittances to the Federal Government, Bello told the Committee the Fund has so far in 2023 generated N2, 492, 996, 588.13 of which the entire sum has been expended on various projects.

Bello who said the money was raised from the statutory remittances from licensees and permits holders also told the Committee that N6.28 billion was generated in 2022, but the amount was also spent on various projects carried out by the Fund and that the Fund spent and incurred a deficit of N255 million in 2022 because they had a carryover of liabilities in 2021.

On what the N6.2 billion revenue in 2022 was spent on, Bello said they intervened in many areas including education, sports development, social services, public welfare and disaster management.

He added that the money was also spent on the running cost of the Fund.

Bello puzzled the lawmakers when he said the Fund was also expected to pay emoluments, allowances and benefits of members of its board, as well as salaries and allowances of staff.

The Federal Road Safety Corps and the Lagos International Trade Fair also appeared before the panel.

Corps Marshall of the FRSC, Dauda Biu and the Chief Executive Officer of the Trade Fair, Veronica Ndanusa, were directed by the Committee to ensure they have all relevant submissions for the committee by the next sitting.

Edited By Grace Namiji