•The boss of the National Lottery Trust Fund must account for N6.3 billion

It was a sorry sight on the floor of the Committee on Finance of the Federal House of Representatives. The chief executive officer of a well-known agency gave his stewardship, and it was a travesty. The National Lottery Trust Fund CEO Bello Maigari stumbled to answer a simple question.

How did it generate a whopping N6.3 billion and suffered a deficit of N255 million? This happened when all its bills, including salaries and allowances, have been paid by the Federal Government.

Maigari, smiling with apparent discomfort, knew he had been exposed, and how did he not know that his math was a scandal? The point is that he knew and he probably thought he could get away with it. Or, perhaps, he thought he would not be found out. After all, more cases than not of financial brigandage have gone below the radar.

Even those open impunities manage to fizzle out and the criminals do not only go free but often repackage themselves into icons and heroes and even get elected into offices.

We have seen sessions before like the recent one between the House Committee of Finance and the chief steward of the NLTF. They disappeared out of memory like a soap bubble.

In other societies, the story would make screaming headlines and the name of the agency’s head would fall into obloquy. But few know the name of Maigari. It is testament to a public weary of such news, and that is a tragedy.

It is such feeling of ennui and aggravated indifference that continue to encourage persons like Maigari to handle public trust like a family fiefdom. What did he do with the N6.3 billion? Maigari claimed he spent the money on matters like education, sports development, social services, public welfare and disaster management.

Those were not his responsibilities. The Federal Government, in its annual budget, covers the NLTF in both the payment of salaries and allowances. Even its capital expenditures were also covered.

The NLTF was trying to curry compassion by claiming that it devoted the money to higher causes. It was a cynical exploitation of noble causes for personal gratification. The finance committee chairman, James Faleke, reflected the mood of his colleagues and any person of integrity when he railed at Maigari.

“It’s like the government opened this agency for you and your family. That is what you are saying. That is the meaning. You generated almost N2.5 billion and you spent the N2.5 billion on the last kobo.” He spoke with sarcasm and disguised contempt.

“We are going to carry out a status enquiry on the Nigerian Lottery Trust Fund. Status enquiry means we are going to bring in an external auditor to audit your accounts, your books, all your income, and expenses from day one to date. We would send our report to the plenary and if you are found guilty, you will be made to refund all expenditure and any other punishment thereof,” he declared.

The House session mirrored the state of our agencies and how rotten it has been. It shows why some Nigerians scramble for political appointments. They see the positions as opportunity to fleece the nation and thumb their noses at those who brandish ideas about the urgency of public service.

Few knew until this revelation that the NLTF made such money. In this case, it was lack of finesse but brazen robbery that exposed it. When Ishaq Oloyede and Dakuku Peterside took over the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), respectively, it was a change of guard that exposed those who had hidden and stolen our treasure for decades.

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