A 28-year-old microbiology graduate of the Imo State University, Miss Dorcas Nwagbara, was yesterday formally presented with a N15 million cheque by Western Lotto Nigeria Limited, being the first winner of the jackpot on the lotto company’s platform.
Nwagbara won in the Powerball draw done on August 13, 2017. Powerball is one of seven international lottery games on the Western Lotto platform.
The N15m prize is arguably the highest winning on any lottery in Nigeria.
An elated Miss Nwagbara, who is also an entrepreneur, said she was initially in shock when she received a call informing her of her win. She enthused, “As you can imagine, I am super-excited. Friday, September 15, was one of the most exciting days in my life so far. I woke up that morning, and I did not even know that my name was everywhere. My name was trending.
“I then got a call from Western Lotto. Apparently, they had been trying to reach me all of Thursday, September 14. I had won the jackpot on Wednesday, September 13. Initially, I thought it was a call from one of the utility service providers and I was like ‘not again.’ I picked up the call, and the next thing I heard was, ‘Congratulations! You have won the N15m Powerball jackpot. I asked, ‘Can you say that again?’ The caller confirmed it.
“I do not know what to say but to thank God. I just want to thank God, and I also want to encourage whoever is playing Western Lotto games to keep playing. I played up to 11 lines the day I won. So, just keep playing. It would come.”
At a brief ceremony in Lagos, the company presented a symbolic cheque to mark the winning.
The Western Lotto Managing Director, Mr Yomi Ogunfowora, said the company was as excited as the winner. “The win by Dorcas confirms our claim that our customers can win every prize on offer across all our games and that we would honour such wins,” Ogunfowora stated.
Brand ambassadors of the company joined at the presentation. Present at the event were movie acts Olu Jacobs, Jide Kosoko, Kemi Afolabi, Ramsey Noah, Paul Obazele and Odunlade Adekola. Popular musician, Tuface Idibia, was also there.
