The chicken is coming home to roost for billionaire politician Senator Buruji Kashamu as he desperately tries to obtain by all means the signature of the National Lotteries Regulatory Commission, NLRC, to an out of court agreement granting his company, Western Lotto , sole rights to promote Lotto games of Ghanaian origin popularly known as “Ghana games”.
The Senator had instituted a court action against 25 lottery operators and the NLRC in December 2019 to grant him authority to regulate and sublicense Ghana games.
It seems Kashamu has lost faith in the judicial system as he is reported to be so desperate to obtain an out of court settlement immediately.
What is curious is his desire to get the NLRC to sign the terms without the input of 25 other defenders in the suit.
The other lottery operators are crying foul to their deliberate exclusion from making input or being party to the execution of the out of court settlement which led to the petition to the House of Representatives committee on Governmental Affairs.
The report of the committee that has oversight functions in the lottery industry is being awaited following stakeholders meeting held in Abuja three weeks ago but industry watchers claim that the desperation of the senator has reached fever pitch for reasons unknown.
It is believed that the present travails of Ibrahim Magu of the EFCC has heightened the senator’s panic due to his close relationship with the EFCC chairman which he exploited.
The Senator who engaged the assistance of EFCC under Magu to harass his business rivals is now certain to face the very same probes to which those rivals were subjected following the revelation during the stakeholders meeting of the House committee that Kashamu’s Western Lotto is the biggest defaulter who has never remitted proceeds of lottery to National Lottery Trust Fund as required by law.
Industry watchers observe the frantic back and forth of Kashamu to NLRC and the supervising Minister of Special Duties to obtain approval and sign-off on the settlement terms which has become a subject of investigation by the House of Representatives.
Investigations suggest that Western Lotto had promised to deliver huge sums of money as royalty to the Lottery Authority in Ghana.
It appears that with each passing day and unfulfilled promises, the Lottery has put Kashamu and his Western Lottery under great pressure. Hence the frantic attempts and desperation of the Senator in Abuja.