A former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, has charged President Bola Tinubu to ban sports betting apps in Nigeria, News About Nigeria reports.
He further charged the President to order the revocation of the licences of physical sports betting operators.
According to Omokri, the ban is necessary to grow Nigeria’s naira and also improve the economic conditions of the country.
The former presidential aide, who said this in a post on his official X account on Wednesday, alleged that according to a report by the National Lottery Trust Fund, over $1 billion is spent on gambling daily in Nigeria.
He further noted that banning sports betting in Nigeria would do the nation good, as it is more profitable to do so compared to former President Muhammadu Buhari’s move to ban X, which was formerly known as Twitter in Nigeria.
Omokri’s post partly reads, “President Tinubu can immediately improve the economic conditions of most Nigerians and make the Naira grow by issuing an Executive Order authorising the Nigerian Communications Commission to ban sports betting apps from the App Store of any GSM Internet Service Provider in Nigeria and revoking the licences of any physical sports betting operators in Nigeria. It makes better sense than Buhari’s draconian #TwitterBan.”
He also decried the fact that gambling is an epidemic that is gradually destroying youths in Nigeria, as an average Nigerian who gambles spends $15 daily on sports betting and other types of gambling.
Omokri further alleged that the scariest part is that more money is leaving Nigeria through gambling than it is coming in.
The former presidential aide also added that the root cause of most of the petty crimes that happen in Nigeria is that many youths are looking for money through different means to sponsor their gambling habit.
He therefore stated that it would be irresponsible for a first-class accountant like President Tinubu to not act on such a matter, which is a threat to the nation’s security and economy.
