“ Dr. Bello Maigari, Executive Secretary National Trust Fund is one of the few most highly respected and intellectual personalities in the country saddled with the responsibility of overseeing critical government agency ”.
As an astute administrator, he has demonstrated uncommon leadership qualities through interventions in Nigeria’s critical development areas, such as the health sector.
It was harvest of pomp and pageantry from beneficiaries, where National Lottery Trust Fund projects are carried out in Nigeria as Dr. Bello Maigari, Executive Secretary delivers people’s oriented mandate as driver for social transformation.
The professionalism and experiences of over three decades encapsulated in public service of Maigari can best be attested to by the current service delivery as crucial role in delivering citizen centered social intervention programmes, rural infrastructural development and promoting the nation’s wellbeing.
A recipient of an honorary Doctor of Business Administration Degree of the Joint Commonwealth University, Belize and London Graduate, Dr. Maigari
embarked on his distinguished career at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi where he held various administrative positions and was instrumental in implementing significant reforms, including the digitization of academic records.
Dr. Bello Maigari, no doubt, is one of the few most highly respected and intellectual personalities saddled with the responsibility of overseeing critical government agencies, such as the NLTF
As an astute administrator, he has demonstrated uncommon leadership qualities through interventions in Nigeria’s critical development areas, such as the health sector. Also Deputy Director and later Director of Operations of the National Lottery Trust Fund between May 2011 and January 2018, he demonstrated a wonderful leadership skill and expertise in managing resources and intervention projects.
It is to his credit that all the operational policy frameworks and initiatives of the agency were developed and established.
Beyond his professional achievements, Dr. Maigari is known for his humble, kind and results-driven nature. He is a firm believer in human capital development and has invested significantly in nurturing talent and fostering human resources.
Popularly known and called as ” A driver for Renewed Hope Agenda “, Maigari has proven unequivocally his strategic ability and capacity to deliver the excellent service of National Lottery Trust Fund’s mandate prescribed by the extent law that gave birth to the agency’s National Lottery Act 2005.
Established in 2006, the NLTF in less than two decades played critical roles in the transformation agenda of the federal government, to renew hope and revamp Nigeria’s economy, by intervening in sports, health, education, water supply and sanitation, environment, arts and culture and heritage with attendant result.
Notably are frameworks and policy documents guidelines on how to access lottery funding for intervention projects, project management and planning, monitoring and evaluation, post-impact assessment and standard operating procedures, whistle-blower policy, scheme of service and the conditions of service, etc.
His innovation and creativity in all facets of operations raised the profile of the agency which led to his appointment as substantive Executive Secretary in February, 2019.
Dr. Bello Maigari focused the Agency on promoting access to lottery funding for projects that seeks to bring succor to Nigerians. The Act establishing the Trust Fund makes it a self-financing Agency of Government under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Special Duties and Inter- Governmental Affairs. Pursuant to Section 35 of the Act, the agency is to collect remittances directly from lottery operators and promoters in the country, and by virtue of Section 40 of the Act apply the proceeds so collected to:
The Agency, under the able leadership of the current Executive Secretary, Dr. Bello Maigari, OON, has recorded an excellent achievement where from 2018 to date, NLTF had executed a total of 311 Good cause, Capital projects and Zonal Intervention Projects (ZIP) across the six Geopolitical zones in the country.
The projects were executed in areas of Healthcare, Water supply, Education and Sports and Environment protection programme interventions.
Following the tremendous achievement and records, in March, 2023, on account of exceptional performance and stewardship in repositioning the National Lottery Trust Fund to the number one spot on the 2022 ICPC Ethics, Integrity and Compliance Scorecard among 360 Federal agencies assessed by the anti-graft agency.
Also, in the same year, the Federal Government Bureau of Public Service Reform (BPSR ) at the end of its 2022 self and validation assessments and in-dept analysis of Ministries, Departments and Agencies( MDAs) NLTF under Bello Maigari’s administration operations, processes and system performance was 75.24 per cent.
“With such record, it emerged a Gold Level organization that exceeds expectations”, the report stated.
Attesting to his professional excellence, competence, and leadership in promoting good governance and accountability in the federal civil service the former administration of Muhammadu Buhari, promptly renewed his second tenure of office in March 2023.
As an age-old development tool for centuries, lotteries have contributed immensely to the development of infrastructure and the economy of nations around the world.
The leadership provided more than Three Hundred projects in the area of sports, health, education, ecological and resettlement matters, among others, that impacted positively on the social, wellbeing of citizens, spread across the six geo-political zones and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
It is obvious, that, from 2019 to date, the Fund, inline with the federal government’s agenda of promoting effective and standard healthcare services
in the country, upgraded and provided many healthcare facilities in the six geopolitical zones a face lift.
These including; provision of advanced medical equipment, including Emergency Personal Protection Equipment’s (EPPE) to many hospitals and special isolation centres across the country, is worthy of note.
History will not forget the vital role the trust fund played under the leadership of Dr Bello Maigari, in saving many lives of Nigerians during the outbreak of the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic.
In the area of health, Maigari provided, Modern electric delivery beds at the General Hospital, Gombe, Ultrasound Machine with monitor to the General Hospital, Daura, katsina State.
Other interventions are double hydraulic delivery beds to the Primary Health Centre, Onikan, and Lagos State.
. Laboratory Autoclave machines to many health Institutions
across the country.
. Commissioning and handing over of World class medical
equipment to Primary Healthcare clinic, New Karu, in Nasarawa State.
. Supply of vital medical equipment to General Hospital, Moniya, Akinyele, in Oyo State.
Kugba Maternity and General Hospital, Agbowu, Abeokuta South in Ogun State, and the Nneto Maternity home, Abia state.
Provision of medical equipment to the general hospital Umunze, Orumba South, Anambra State.
Eja Memorial/Joint Hospital, Itigidi, Abi, Cross River state.
. Joint Hospital Amaigbo Nwangele, Imo State.
. lbakwa – Nike Health Centre, Enugu East, Enugu State.
. Provision of top-notch medical equipment to Eketube- Enyigba Primary
Healthcare, Abakaliki in Ebonyi State.
. Provision of Medical equipment to general hospitals in Bali in Taraba state.
. Provision of medical equipment in Garaku general hospital in Nasarawa state.
Others include: Kwoi and Kagarko Comprehensive healthcare centres in Kaduna state are among the beneficiaries of the vital medical equipment intervention.
The General Hospital in Hong in Adamawa state, which recently upgraded to a federal medical centre, and the Federal Medical Centre, Yola, now upgraded to Modibbo Adama University Teaching Hospital, are among
the beneficiaries of world-class medical equipment.
The agency has significantly recorded imperative interventions in various aspects of medical equipment to help promote all-inclusive healthcare coverage across Nigeria from 2018 till date.
Also, NLTF donated, well-equipped Ambulances, Digital Ultrasound Machines, Digital X-ray Machines, Anaesthetics Machines, Hydraulic Operation Tables. Wheelchairs Screens Suction Machines, BP Apparatus, Stools with castor.
Blood Bank, Haematocrits Centrifuge, and sponge, Holding forceps, Standard First Aid boxes and accessories.
Blood Bank Refrigerator, Hospital beds and Mattresses, Oxygen Concentrators and Portable borne drilling machines, Dental examination head heights among others.
It also funded the building, furnishing, and equipping of an Ultra-modern mortuary Complex in Hong General Hospital now upgraded to Federal medical center, Hong in Adamawa state as well as equipping the Daura general hospital in 2022 with intensive COVID-19 ICU Treatment Center.
Dr. Bello Maigari , having realised the significance of sports as a
unifying tool in the country, the agency has fully contributed to the sports development through the provision of graded and customized Football, Basketball, Volleyball, Taekwondo, Athletics, Badminton Lawn and Table Tennis and other sports equipment to over 3,000 schools in Nigeria.
Basically, the aim was to uplift sports at that level by ensuring that the talents, which abound therein, were harnessed for social and economic advancement of the country.
In furtherance of this objective, many Universities such as Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, University of Benin, University of Lagos, University of Port-Harcourt, university of Jos among others, have benefited from the agency’s sports intervention.
The National Sports Federation, The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Para-Power Lifting Federation of Nigeria, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, Nigeria Basketball Federation, Badminton Federation of Nigeria, to mention but a few, have at one point or another benefitted from the NLTF’s
support.
Maigari’s special plan for education is aimed to address overstretched and deplorable condition of institutions of learning in the country, already, the agency had received a number of requests from public universities nationwide who were in dire need of the agency’s support.
He noted that though the agency had no capacity to address the entire needs of the Universities, however; said the agency’s intervention would go along way in alleviating some of their needs Some of these projects, worth billions of naira, commissioned and handed over to the beneficiaries, while some are under-way upon approval as prescribed under Section 40 (a) of the National Lottery Act, 2005, undoubtedly prove NLTF’s capability to annex and prudently deploy lottery revenue to significant economic development of Nigeria.
On these remarkable achievements, the agency under the leadership of Dr Bello Maigari received significant federal government recommendations through the Minister and Parmanent Secretary, Ministry of Special Duties and Inter- Governmental Affairs, Hon. Zephaniah Bitrus Jisalo and Mrs. Ibiene Roberts, both commended the agency for it’s monumental programme that touched the lives of Nigerians.
Of recent, federal government rated the agency’s programmes especially in the areas of Health, Sports and Education interventions that had impacted positively on the lives of Nigerians.
” Federal Government is aware of the Agency’s wonderful achievements and truly, the National Lottery Trust Fund has touched the lives of Nigerians.
” The impact you are making in terms of these good causes, is quite phenomenal because Nigerians are gaining a lot”. Permanent Secretary’s testimony confirmed.
With its consistency to quality adherence to best practices and building awareness on the value of lottery to modern life and its transformational legacy, as well as fostering understanding of the role of national lottery funding to the public.
Sourcing it fund through the national lottery, NLTF has awarded grants to applicants seeking funding for projects that transform and sustain social and economic welfare of people and communities.
These projects are helping to provide basic health-care needs in un-served and under-served areas of many communities, and also support latent skills acquisition for youths, education facilities, teaching and learning outcomes.
Today, the Fund has become a household name in Nigeria with virtually every senatorial district priding itself with one or two projects either commissioned or handed over, waiting commissioning or ongoing
Many sports federations, professional bodies and NGOs have benefitted
immensely from NLTF’ s sponsorships with outstanding results, especially in
sports, that have brought Laureates to the country.
Thus, in pursuant to Section 40 (a) of the National Lottery Act, 2005, projects by the Fund have reached every nook and cranny of Nigeria, from the remote village of llela in Sokoto State, to the creeks of Bayelsa State in the Niger Delta Region, and even up to the enchanting hills of Mambila Plateau in Taraba State.
NLTF is not exception from it globally counterparts, where Modern Lottery raise funds for development of critical infrastructure and other areas of the economy.
The NLTF, with its support to Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with the aims of transforming Nigeria, will continue to impact greatly on the society far beyond its current level, barely a few years of its establishment if the Nigerian Lottery/Gaming Industry is given the right attention by relevant authorities and favourable government policies that will engender a conducive environment for lottery operations and subsequent revenue generation in Nigeria.
The remarkable transformational leadership of Maigari is bringing new innovations and good governance in the lottery and gaming sector having implemented life-changing intervention programmes across the country deserves encomium and not condemnation.#
