The Executive Chairman of the Edo State Internal Revenue Service (EIRS), Otunba (Hon.) Oladele Bankole-Balogun, on Monday, December 8, promised an administrative and knowledge-based transfer of expertise to the Edo State Lottery Regulatory Commission during the latter’s courtesy visit to his office.
The EIRS Chairman, who played host to the Edo State Lottery Regulatory Commission Chairman, Rt. Hon. Frank Abumere Okiye, and his team, said the courtesy visit was an opportunity to cement relationships between both establishments so that “The lottery commission should be able to meet its mandate.”
The revenue chief declared that the revenue service had a lot of “knowledge and resources in the gaming area” to share with its sister agency. Having been empowered by Section 9(b) of the Edo State Revenue Administrative Law of 2012 to collect all Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for Edo State, he confirmed that EIRS was passionate about the success of the Lottery Regulatory Commission.
Balogun told his guest, “You are sitting on a potentially massive revenue base for the state,” and advised Rt. Hon. Okiye to carry out due diligence to identify the Commission’s areas of strength and necessary collaborative efforts aimed at finding solutions.
Balogun encouraged his guests to leverage the potentials of the lottery gaming commission to realize the objectives of the Commission and ultimately, the objectives of His Excellency, Senator Monday Okpebholo.
Rt. Hon. Frank Okiye, who led his team to the EIRS headquarters for the courtesy visit, stated that the visitation became expedient because EIRS had been the direct regulator of the lottery and gaming industry as it affects Edo State before September 26, when Governor Godwin Obaseki gave assent to the Bill, now referred to as the Law on Edo State Lottery Commission.
Having been inaugurated on October 14, Okiye said their function took immediate effect, hence the need to familiarize themselves with critical stakeholders in the industry.
He stated, “We are partners, we are compatriots, and we have a common mission to deliver for the state through great synergy and transfer of knowledge. We are asking for the support of this commission as brothers and partners.”
Okiye said the main reason for the visitation was to “put together areas of synergy, collaboration, and assistance in areas seen as necessary to enable both establishments function together.”
He also listed areas the Lottery Regulatory Commission needed to work on to gain public trust.
