REINTRODUCING THE WHISTLEBLOWING BILL

  Government must act with sincerity of purpose for the policy to make effective impact

In a bid to curb corruption in public places, former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016 introduced the Whistleblowing policy. Unfortunately, despite the widespread enthusiasm which greeted it, the policy was curiously allowed to flag. Last week, there were indications that President Bola Tinubu would represent the bill to the National Assembly for legislative action and strengthen the fight against corruption. According to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun who made the statement, “a successful whistleblowing policy requires receiving verifiable reports, conducting thorough investigations, and enforcing compliance with the law.”

Aimed at enhancing accountability and transparency in the management of public funds, the whistle-blower policy was well received by Nigerians, many of whom are persistent victims of the vicious cancer of corruption which manifests in contract inflation, embezzlement of salaries and pensions, diversion of funds meant for infrastructure, and related issues. The policy empowered citizens to report to the relevant authorities anytime they identified misappropriation of public funds and other fraudulent activities.

At the initial stage, the policy was a veritable tool for uncovering corrupt practices both in the public and private sectors. At the last count, hundreds of billions of naira had reportedly been recovered through the policy. At a recent workshop, entitled, “The Implementation of the Whistleblowing Policy in Nigeria: Issues, Challenges and Way Forward,” the federal government disclosed that it recovered over N83 billion, $609 million and 5.4 million euros in liquid assets between 2017 and 2023 following the introduction of the Whistleblowing policy. Even though the public was yet to be informed on how the money was spent, the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA) Director, Ministry of Finance, Yusuf Sule noted that all recoveries were lodged in the FGN Assets Recovery Account maintained by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) and domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

However, the implementation of the policy suffered many setbacks which affected its impact and effectiveness. Potential whistle-blowers, for one, were enveloped in fear as there was not any form of legislative protection. Besides, there was limited funding, while a key motivation for potential whistle-blowers was at best left cloudy. Perhaps nothing exemplified this than the controversy that surrounded the reward to the whistle-blower who instigated the process that led to the discovery of over N13 billion at the Osborne Towers, Ikoyi in Lagos. That incident, besides opening the government to ridicule, raised several questions about the whole policy. It also revealed that when it comes to keeping agreements, our government can hardly be trusted.

According to the policy, a whistle-blower was entitled to between 2.5 per cent and five per cent, provided there was a voluntary return of stolen or concealed public funds. Although such a figure is outrageous, many viewed with amusement the sharp dispute over payment to the Ikoyi whistle-blower. What is even more perplexing was that incident became a media event, while the said informant was subjected to all kinds of ordeal, with insinuations that he was insane to the extent he might not be able to manage the huge money that would accrue to him. If nothing else, that incident dealt a huge damage to its credibility, and evidently led to the loss of confidence in the policy.

Now that President Tinubu is said to be interested in reviving the idea, so many issues would have to be investigated. Besides, even if the National Assembly passes the proposed bill when eventually presented, the federal government must act with sincerity of purpose for it to make any meaning. Nigerians would also like to know how much was realised from previous efforts and how the money was expended.