Lagos Sports Trust Fund Seeks Support From Operators Of Lottery, Betting Companies

Chairman of Lagos State Sports Trust Fund, Chief Femi Pedro (4th left) with other members of the Board and some operators of lottery and sports betting companies at the stakeholders meeting in Lagos on Friday

The Board of Lagos Sports Trust Fund, as part of its engagement to carry along stakeholders in its activities, met with the operators in the lottery and sports betting industries in the state on Friday.

The meeting, which was well attended, was a platform for the board of Lagos Sports Trust Fund headed by Chief Femi Pedro to sensitise the lottery and sports betting companies in Lagos State on the existence of the Trust Fund and to seek the support of these companies to cue in to the visions of the Funds as set up by the enabling law.

P.M. EXPRESS reports that notable betting companies which attended the event included Bet9ja, Betway, Betking, Baba Ijebu, Bet Pawa, Superior Games, Bia Stellar Limited, while the regulatory body, Lagos State Lottery Board was led to the event by its General Manager/ CEO, Seun Anibaba.

“The main purpose of this event is first to formally introduce ourselves to you and through you to the members of the public,” said Chief Pedro, former Deputy Governor of Lagos State.

He said that the Board of the Sports Trust Fund “in the past few months have painstakingly embarked on a strategic exercise to craft our vision, mission, and core values. We have also developed our corporate governance principles, organisation, structure and operating models.”

According to Pedro, while the Lagos State Sports Trust Fund was created primarily to play a critical role in financing the development and promotion of sports, sporting activities and facilities in the state, there is need to partner with the private sectors and well meaning Nigerians to succeed in its mandate, hence the call on the lottery and sports betting companies in the state to support both morally and financially.

Chairman of Lagos State Sports Commission, Dr. Kweku Tandoh (middle) and Ms. Moyo Ogunseinde, a board member of the Lagos Sports Trust Fund at the stakeholder meeting

“We invite you to be the first catalyst in our Public Private Partnership (PPP) model to transform sports industry in Lagos State and Nigeria,” Pedro told his guests.

The former Deputy Governor said the first major project which the Sports Trust Fund wants to embark on and see to its conclusion by the end of the year is the rehabilitation and remodelling of the Mobolaji Bank Anthony Sports Centre, Rowe Park, Yaba. He said: “Our plan is to do a total overhaul of the complex and transform it to a modern indoor and outdoor sports complex of international standard which will be available to young people, clubs, community, groups, schools and other users across the state.”

“We have several goals to ourselves. Beginning from this year, and for the next five years, we are committed to achieve a minimum of N10 Billion of raised funds in five years. Our goal is to secure commercial revenues that limit government funding to ten percents or less. We are also committed to ensuring that not less than 10 million Lagos residents participate actively doing sports. We hope to deliver at least 10 infrastructure projects annually, develop 20 athletes each from 10 different sports from grassroots to podium and train 10 coaches in different sports annually.”

Representatives of the lottery and sports betting companies at the meeting commended the state government for the initiatives and pledged their supports.

Damian Udel from Betking said that his company buys into the vision of the Sports Trust Fund, adding that the Board should count of Betking’s support.

To Seun Anibaba, GM of Lagos State Sports Lottery Board, the Sports Trust Fund will be supported to achieve its objectives. “The law is cleared about this and our responsibility is to inform the operators of lottery and sports betting in Lagos. I am happy to say that most of our operators have been doing one form of Corporate Social Responsibility or the other and I believe with the Sports Trust Fund they will be ready to support,” he said.

Chief Pedro was joined by other members of the Board who included the Chairman of Lagos State Sports Commission, Dr. Kweku Tandoh, the Director General of the Sports Commission, Mr. Oluwatoyin Bolowotan, Mr. Kenneth Odusanya, Barrister Dapo Awe, Ms. Moyo Ogunseinde, Executive Secretary Mr. Olaposi Agunbiade and others.

Executive Secretary of Lagos State Sports Trust Fund, Mr. Olaposi Agunbiade and some of the representatives of lottery and sports betting companies at the stakeholders meeting on Friday.