Delta State Governor, Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa has gone off guard in his bid to increase the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state.
The governor had on June 28, 2016 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Digital Gaming Systems Limited to run a Lottery Gaming Company otherwise known as Delta Lotto, thereby turning Delta youths into gamblers in the name of job creation.
Lotto could also be referred to as ‘Pool, sweepstakes, draw, raffle’, a game in which people play with money or any valuable and the winner goes home with whatever is used to bet and the implication is that secondary school leavers, school drop outs, undergraduates and graduates who have not found any meaningful livelihood would turn to.
The lotto games which could also be called ‘Geogba’, in Pigeon English, has turned many children and youths into big time armed robbers as they go about picking pockets, stealing from their parents and selling any valuables especially their parents belongings to play the game which Okowa has now licensed in the state.
Speaking shortly after signing the MoU in Government House Asaba, Governor Okowa disclosed that a rigorous process was involved before it got to the stage of signing the MoU to ensure that the people of the state gets adequate benefits from the programme.
According to him, “we congratulate ourselves for getting to this stage where we have just signed the MoU; we have been briefed about the whole system and it is heart-warming that there is a great prospect of creating a lot of jobs for our youths.”
Read the secret plans behind the signing of the lotto: “It is also, expected that the state will generate revenue from the programme and the fund generated applied to social development that will benefit the people especially the poor, which makes it a win-win situation for the people,” the Governor said.
While expressing confidence in the ability of Digital Gaming Systems Limited to run an accountable and transparent Delta State Lottery, the Governor, assured the company that his administration would meet with its obligations to turn Delta youths to gamblers.
“With the number of years the Digital Gaming Systems limited has as experience, we are confident that the best would be achieved for our people and we look forward to a huge success story in the nearest future,” the Governor added.
Meanwhile, Okowa in his clannish way has stopped the salaries of all political appointee of the 25 local government council areas with the flimsy excuse of dwindling allocation while his over 2000 political appointees with no portfolios still receives salaries to the detriment of civil servants in the state.
Investigations revealed that Okowa, directed the LGA chairmen to come up with the names of the workforce after Heckerbella concluded the Biometrics at the councils only releases salaries of the submitted names whenever allocation comes to the state leaving the appointees without salaries.
Some of the appointees in Delta North who spoke with our correspondent bereted Okowa for his insensitiveness in the way and manner he governs the state.
