Brouhaha over NLA boss: Staff warn detractors

A group of concerned workers of the National Lottery Authority (NLA) in the Ashanti Region have vented their anger on a pressure group calling itself Concerned Voters Movement (CVM) for launching scathing attacks on the Director-General of the NLA, Mr. Kofi Osei Ameyaw, and calling for his removal from office.

The CVM last week held a press conference in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi, and made series of allegations against the NLA boss. Among these allegations by the CVM were that the NLA boss was ‘incompetent’ and that he had no in-depth knowledge in the NLA Act.

President of the CVM, Mr. Razak Kwadwo Poku, who addressed the press conference, claimed that government had no right to ban “Banker-to-Banker,” but to regulate them to operate.

They also called for the Amendment of the NLA Act (722). According to Mr. Poku, his outfit has sent three separate petitions to the NLA boss on steps taken by government to ban “Banker-to-Banker,” but has since failed to respond to the petitions.

This development, he indicated, had prompted the Chief of Staff at the presidency to refer the matter to the Chairman of the Finance Committee of Parliament, Dr. Mark Assibey-Yeboah.

The CVM president further alleged that about 85 per cent of the NLA accredited agents nationwide were operating Banker-to-Banker and that the NLA boss was serving his own interest.

However, reacting to the allegations levelled against the NLA boss by the CVM, the Concerned Staff of NLA in the Ashanti Region argued that Mr. Osei Ameyaw had done nothing wrong nor committed any crime, but suspected the CVM had been paid to tarnish his image.

According to the NLA staff, barely six months in office, Mr. Osei-Ameyaw has implemented better policies and measures which include the extension of invitation to all Banker-to-Banker operators to pick forms at every NLA offices to be registered and recognised under one umbrella.

They further hinted that all Banker-to-Banker operators have NLA machines which they use to operate, adding that this implied that the NLA had no intention to sabotage their work or ban it as claimed by the CVM.

The NLA Concerned Staff stressed that after 50 years of being in existence, this is the first time a director-general of NLA is inviting all Banker-to-Banker operators to be registered and regulated under one body.

The staff, however, encouraged Mr Osei-Ameyaw and other authorities to treat the allegations by the CVM as baseless and unfounded, but rather focus on his job to deliver for the betterment of the NLA and the country as a whole.