The Federal Government has said that its whistle-blowing policy lost momentum and could not stand the test of time due to a lack of protection laws that would guarantee the safety of whistleblowers.
This is as the government puts in place a legal framework for a policy that will significantly enhance the fight against corruption in the new whistleblower draft bill which was just approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
This was made known by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, while briefing State House Correspondents after the week’s FEC meeting, chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Ahmed, who said that the government embarked on engagement in 6 geo-political zones across the country, noted that the new bill will protect whistleblowers that provide helpful information to the Federal Government.
New bill to ensure effectiveness of retention of whistleblowing policy
- The minister during the press briefing said, “The Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning presented several memos today. The first is the draft whistleblower bill for 2022. This memo has been reviewed by the Council and approved with a provision to ensure alignment with the Evidence Act.
- “The purpose of operationalising and putting in place a whistleblower bill is to strengthen the fight against corruption and to enable protection for whistleblowers that provide information for use by the government.
- “As you know, since 2016, the Council has approved the setting up the Presidential Initiative of Continuous Audit. PICA has been working in partnership with EFCC, ICPC, DSS, and NFIU and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
- “We noticed that the whistleblower policy response has lost momentum. We embarked on engagement in the six geo-political zones, and one of the main outcomes we found is that people are concerned about their safety due to providing information. So, this bill is critical to ensure the effectiveness of the retention of the whistle policy.”
The bill is expected to be forwarded to the National Assembly for consideration and approval.
For the records
- The whistleblower Policy was introduced on December 21, 2016, as part of efforts aimed at enhancing the Anti-Corruption fight of the Buhari administration. The policy which was initially hugely successful is now in need of reforms after a few years.
- The Whistleblower Protection Act, facilitated through the Federal Ministry of Finance, provides legal cover for individuals who voluntarily expose acts of fraud, bribery, looted government funds and assets, financial misconduct and other forms of corruption.
- The policy also rewards a whistleblower who provides information about any financial mismanagement or tipoff about stolen funds to the ministry’s portal with 2.5 – 5% of the funds recovered by the Nigerian government.
