A software engineer, Sidney Osahon, who was about being evicted by his landlady, has won the N20m Give ‘n’ Take national lottery jackpot in Abuja.
The 35-year-old native of Edo State explained that he was contemplating selling his mother’s landed property in the Federal Capital Territory, when he received information last Sunday that he is now N20m richer.
Speaking to journalists on Thursday in Abuja, Osahon said he had been playing the lottery for some time, noting that his win came at the time his landlady was threatening to evict him.
He said, “I owed my landlady a few months’ rents and she had been threatening to evict me. In fact, the day I received the news of my win, she had sent me an SMS in the morning that she was coming for a showdown over the arrears of rent.
“My mother was saying maybe we should sell her parcel of land in Abuja and use part of the proceeds to settle the rent, but I felt that was not a progressive thing to do. So, I prayed to God that I am tired of paying rent and that I would like to move into my own house, and God did it for me; I am now a landlord,” Osahon said jubilantly.
He added that his mother doubted him when he informed her that he was now a millionaire, noting that she almost fainted on hearing the good news.
He said, “When I told her that I had got the money to build my house, she didn’t believe it. She said, ‘I would faint’.”
The Managing Director, Give ‘n’ Take lottery, Jolly Enabulele, disclosed that Osahon played the lottery with N100, noting that his win, from available records, is the biggest lottery prize in the history of lottery in the country.
He further explained that Osahon won the N20m jackpot because the first winner failed to claim the prize, adding that the money was rolled over to another week and Osahon won the star prize.
Enabulele said, “It will interest you to know that a ticket on December 24, 2017 emerged the first ticket to win the N20m bonanza, but failed to come forward within seven days to claim his winnings.
“That failure and in keeping with our avowed promise to ensure that someone wins the national jackpot prize, we held a second electronic draw after the weekly jackpot draw, which then saw Osahon join the millionaires’ club.”
The organisers stated that the jackpot winner would be presented his cheque on Sunday by the National Lottery Regulatory Commission officials.
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