Whistle Blower: NOA Raises the Alarm over Transactional Politics

Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

The Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Dr. Garba Abari, has raised the alarm over the rising spate of transactional politics and the need for the application of the whistle blowing policy, saying that money in exchange of votes is not the best for the polity.

Abari, who stated this yesterday in Abuja during the launch of Corruption Anonymous (CORA) Whistleblowing Platform, by Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Foundation in collaboration with Africa Centre for Media Information and Literacy (AFRICMIL), said the agency is worried about such behavior between political actors and the electorates.

Abari, who was represented by the Assistant Director in Charge of Press and Public Affairs, Mr. Paul Odenyi, said that to curb the menace which has since become a norm, the whistle blowing policy should be applied in the forthcoming Osun elections.

He said that its application in the Osun elections and others would serve as litmus test and the effect of vote buying and selling would be discouraged and brought to the nearest minimum.

“Osun elections can be made more interesting and exciting if the policy on whistle blowing is applied because this will reduce the effect of vote buying.

“NOA is concerned and worried about the transactional behaviours precipitated by political actors and those that seek to led us,” he said.

In his presentation, AFRICMIL Coordinator, Dr. Chido Onumah, said that the whistle blowing policy which soon nosedived after a loud applause at its inception had recorded about 5,000 whistle blowing tips which were received by anti-corruption agencies from December 2016 to August 2017.

He said, however, the interest of citizens began to wane and the key findings among others are that an “overwhelming number (98 per cent) of the people surveyed believe that corruption is the country’s major problem, and that they lack the knowledge of what to report and the appropriate channel of reporting.

“Within one year, the enthusiasm is citizens about the policy roared, leading to massive recoveries of stolen public funds in both local and foreign currencies as announced by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning.”