By Auwal Mohammed
Gombe (Nigeria) — National Lottery Trust Fund donated sports equipment to 53 public primary schools in Gombe State northeast with strong warning to the Head Teachers of the beneficiaries schools.Executive Secretary of the Fund, Habu Gumel, stated this while speaking during the presentation of the sport equipment to the Primary schools Head Teachers on Monday in Gombe.
He said the exercise is part of the Federal Government’s initiative aimed at providing sports equipment to 2,000 public primary schools in the country and government’s commitment to uplifting and promoting grassroots sports development in the country.
He called on the benefiting schools to protect the equipment, saying, “we have alerted security agencies to apprehend any person who diverts these Federal Government intervention materials.”
Mr. Gumel said that the National Lottery Act 2005 empowers it to utilise proceeds generated from all national lottery operations for execution of good projects across the country.
“I call upon our lottery operators and licensees, and indeed business promoters that engage in any form of promotional lottery to keep to their obligations of remitting 20 percent lottery proceeds to the Trust Fund. As government will no longer tolerate sharp practices that undermines the growth and development of lottery good causes in the country,” Gumel said.
Also speaking, Acting Secretary to the Government of the Federation SGF, Habiba Lawal, represented by the permanent secretary, Special Duties, Amina Shamaki, said the distributed sports equipment were purchased at the instance of directive by President Muhammadu Buhari to the NLTF, to the effect that the money in their custody should be utilized for ‘good causes’.
She said that 50 per cent of the money generated through lottery activities was paid back to those who actually play the lottery.
Deputy Governor of Gombe State, Charles Iliya, assured the NLTF that the benefitting schools would make judicious use of the sports equipment, urging the Trust Fund to ensure that all schools in the state were touched and the distribution sustained.
Distributed items include equipment for volleyball, basketball, football as well as kits for wrestling, Table Tennis and badminton among others.
