How one Bello Maigari, supposedly an educated Nigerian and possibly from one of the states of Nigeria was appointed as the executive secretary/chief executive of the National Lottery Trust Fund remains a mystery. If it is not a mystery, how did he qualify for such a plum position and survived the anti-corruption war of former president Buhari? Was there no searchlight zoomed on the operations of the Fund he proudly butchers? From his past managerial antecedents of the Fund, the man sounds in competent for the high profile job. He appears to be occupying the exalted position only to satisfy his personal interest and those of his family and friends. The Fund yearns for forensic auditing to unearth other hidden scandals with Maigari sent on compulsory suspension or dismissal to save the ailing agency from further financial catastrophe .
The National Lottery Trust Fund was established, positioned and fully funded by the federal government, to generate revenue, remit same to government pool for support to government’s laudable programmes of development.
But not satisfied with the funding of government, the Fund under Bello Maigari generated over N2.5billion from statutory remittances from licenses and permit holders in 2023 as well as N6.8billion it generated in 2022 from same source of generation but squandered by Maigari without remitting a dime to the federal government treasury for other developmental purposes.
Maigari was caught by nemesis before the House of Representatives Finance Committee penultimate Monday during the 2024-26 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper Interactive Session with Federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
His response to questions on the Fund’s activities was a bundle of disappointment and disgrace to educated Nigerians holding public office on trust. Disappointed to the point of provocation, the House Committee opted to place the Fund on Status Enquiry for squandering all its internally generated revenue without authority and against laid down rules and regulations.
Confidently, Maigari without a second thought told the House Committee that the generated revenues were expended on various critical sector interventions, including education, sports development, social services, public welfare and disaster management across Nigeria. This was the only story he could concoct and tell the committee to be further trusted.
Not satisfy with his folktale he was entertaining his audience with, Maigari revealed that the treasury of the Fund under his management was clean swept without a dime, and had a deficit of about N255billion in 2022 because of a carryover of liabilities in 2021.
Still living in a fool’s paradise and believing he was impressing, the committee with his bogus claims, Maigari arrogantly said the Fund was expected to pay emoluments, allowances, and benefits of members of its board, as well as salaries and allowances.
While acting his drama play before the committee, Maigari must have forgotten that it is the federal government that funds the Fund he manages. He failed to understand the fact that funds allocated to the Fund by the federal government are meant to address issues of salaries, allowances and other fringe benefits of board members etc.
Let the embattled Maigari tell Nigerians the naked truth on whether or not the Fund has a mandate of establishment to intervene in those critical sectors he claimed and the locations of the said interventions including costs involved. Was the National Lottery Trust Fund mandated to intervene in the education, sports development etc sectors? If yes, on whose authority did he squander over N2billion of the internally generated revenue? There may be many more to tell the story.
While President Tinubu is strategizing to launch a full scale war against corrupt practices, the likes of Bello Maigari are there supporting corrupt practices to flourish.
But for sure, a forensic auditing of the National Lottery Trust Fund will reveal volumes of other sharp corrupt practices bedeviling the federal government-owned agency that should be rescued from the likes of Maigari.
