Senate uncovers over N7bn fraud in National Lottery Trust Fund

The Senate said it has uncovered a monumental fraud of over N7 billion in the National Lottery Trust Fund (NLTF).

The Senate committee chairman on finance, Adeola Olamilekan (APC, Lagos) raised the issue on Monday in the ongoing investigation into remittances by MDAs between 2014 and 2020 and payment of one percent stamp duty on all contract awards within the same period.

The committee also hinted that the agency violated due process while awarding a contract worth N1.12 billion tagged: ‘Intervention Budget Distribution’ which was requested in a letter dated March 12, 2014.

Olamilekan said that during the period under review, the agency declared N7 billion, but further investigation by the committee revealed that the money spent on good course was more than the money declared by the agency as internally generated revenue (IGR).

While expressing worry about the source of the money spent on the good course, which was more than the money declared before the committee, the committee chairman asked for the source of the excess fund spent by the National Lottery Trust of Fund.

According to him, “We discovered another monumental fraud from the National Lottery Trust Fund for money ordinarily should have been used for good course in accordance with their Act.

“The total money accruing to them in the period under review is about N7 billion but by the time we marry this money with the good course to be provided, we noticed that the amount expended on good course is even more than the amount that is declared.

“And the question is where do you get this excess fund? Do you have any other source of income? The answer is no. And what that simply implies is under declaration of revenue,” Olamilekan explained.

BusinesssDay learnt that the total procurement cost for the contract awarded without due process was N800 million, consultancy service was N185 million, public awareness and media cost N50 million, while N50 million was spent on project administration and N25 million spent on contingency.

Findings further revealed that the consultancy fee, which was about N185 million was expected to be N80 million which was 10 percent of the contract cost.

Attempts to speak with Anele Desmond, the public relation/evaluation officer of National Lottery Trust Fund were unsuccessful. The agency has no functional website where its activities can be monitored.