FG TO INCREASE ITS INTERVENTION IN SPORTS, OTHERS

The Federal Government through the National Lottery Trust Fund has mapped out plans to scale up its intervention in sectors such as sports, health and education across the country.

The Board Chairman of the Fund, Mr Christopher Attah stated this in Enugu during an assessment tour of some schools that benefitted from the first phase of the intervention programme.

According to the 2005 Act which established the National Lottery Trust Fund, 20% of the proceeds of the lotteries in Nigeria should be given to the lottery Trust Fund for the development of sports in schools.

In line with this Act, the Trust Fund distributed sports equipment to over six hundred schools in the South East with more than seventy of the schools in Enugu state.

The Chairman of the Board represented by the former Deputy Governor of Edo State, Mr Lucky Emashe said the visit was to assess the usefulness of the equipment.

In a remark, the Director of Planning and Monitoring,Federal Ministry of Youths and Sports, Mrs HawaKuruAkinyemi noted that the interaction was yielding result especially in the area of harnessing young talents  and urge the benefiting schools to make good use of the equipment.

The Head Mistress of WTC Primary School, Enugu, Mrs NgozikaEneh and the traditional ruler of Ibeagwa Nike Community, Igwe Emmanuel Ugwu said the equipment were of great benefit to them and asked for more.

Meanwhile, during a courtesy visit to one of the leading contributor of the Trust Fund, R&S Lotto, the management of the group complained about multiple taxation from the state and local governments, which the board promised to look into.

OBINNA OGBUKA