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The National Lottery Trust Fund (NLTF) history on Friday, 20th May, 2006, when the first successful lottery good causes intervention in grass roots sports development was unveiled amidst pomp and pageantry.

Sports being one of the uniting forces of Nigerians, it was over whelming when the NLTF officially unveiled, commissioned and presented branded sports equipment procured with revenue generated from lottery , in the following sports; Athletics, Badminton, Handball, Basketball, Volleyball, Football, Judo, Table Tennis and Taekwondo to 2000 public Primary Schools nationwide. This particular intervention is quite unique, as it targets sports equipment which focuses on pupils at primary School levels, thereby laying a solid foundation for the teeming youths at the grass roots to actively participate in sports.

To many who were at the Late (Gen.) Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Memorial Drive, Abuja Venue of the unprecedented occasion, lottery indeed has a huge potentials for wealth generation.

His Excellency Pro. Oluyemi Oluleke Osinbajo, SAN, GCON Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment for the good leadership, innovation and pioneering approach funding sports and setting precedence in the implementation of lottery good causes which seeks to promote social inclusion through grass roots sports development in the country.

The Vice-President further said that government hope that this laudable programme of the National Lottery Trust Fund would be sustained, and therefore promised that its mandate to fund the birth of the nation’s cultural heritage, provide basic health care in our communities, extend access of education to rural areas, provide clean and portable drinking water and sanitation and enhance sporting life in Nigeria.

While Engr. Babachir David Lawal, FNSE, Secretary to the Government of the Federation and guest of Honour at the occasion noted that implementation by the National Lottery Trust Fund’s approved good cause intervention programme in sport is a remarkable progress and clear testament to the good leadership of the Fund, especially the manner in which the Executive Secretary and his management ensured the logical conclusion of very important procurement exercise for the nation.

   Barrister Solomon Celcap Dalong, Hon. Minister of Youth and Sports said that the ministry worked actively with the Trust Fund to assist in identifying various sports suitable for primary schools, and emphasized that this collaboration helped in the good design for the equipment, their manufacture and eventually supply to the nation.

With this unprecedented achievement, many observers believed that the Trust Fund if given the right hand of fellowship by the Lottery industry in Nigeria, it will satisfy the aspiration of Nigerians for more lottery good causes.