UPDATE: FG REITERATES COMMITMENT TO PROTECT WHISTLEBLOWERS
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The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to guarantee the protection of whistleblowers from possible reprisals by handling their reports with utmost confidentiality.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said this at a sensitisation workshop on the implementation of Whistle-blowing Policy in Nigeria, on Wednesday in Abuja.
Edun said that the idea was to ensure smooth operation of the policy.
The theme of the workshop was, “Implementation of the Whistle-blowing Policy in Nigeria: Issues, Challenges and Way Forward”.
“ The focus is on three key areas of the policy, public awareness, protection of whistleblowers, and effective response mechanism.
“Despite the good intention and achievements of the policy, there is still some public misconception about it.
“This has made regular stakeholders’ engagement indispensable in order to further enlighten the public on the policy.
As part of measures to ensure smooth operation of the whistle-blowing policy, government is committed to guaranteeing the whistleblower’s protection from possible reprisals by handling their reports with the utmost confidentiality.
“The policy provides mechanism for this protection, and it is our duty to uphold these provisions and support those who come forward to blow the whistle,” Edun said.
He said that a successful whistle-blowing policy involved receiving verifiable reports, conducting thorough investigations to authenticate them, and taking appropriate action to enforce compliance with the extant laws.
“We are committed to implementing the present government’s agenda to the letter.
“No stone will be left unturned to ensure that a legal frame-work is put in place to drive the implementation of the whistleblowing policy.
“To this end, we are working towards re-presenting the Whistleblowing Bill to the National Assembly for necessary legislative action.
“We expect that the public will support the expeditious passage of the Bill into Law by the National Assembly,” he said.
He said that the policy was part of the government’s strategy to ensure that our public institutions operate with integrity and remain accountable to the Nigerian people.
According to him, it is our collective responsibility to create an environment where the populace feels confident and protected in reporting unethical or illegal activities capable of jeopardising the overall development of the country.
“ This will be continually pursued with strict compliance with the rule of law as one of the pillars of good governance.
“The present administration cherishes the right, privacy and protection of every Nigerian.
“The whistleblowing policy is, therefore, not meant to witch-hunt, but it is in the interest of saving our collective resources for the development of the country,” he said.
He said that the Nigeria whistle-blowing policy established clear procedures for reporting financial malpractices.
He said that the policy had helped in ensuring confidentiality and protection of the whistle-blower from the retaliation by the culprit.
“It clearly outlines how investigations should be handled such that the whistle-blower is protected and the accused is equally treated in accordance with the rule of law,” he said.
The minister urged Nigerians to work together in making the policy a success, and to build a future where integrity and accountability are the cornerstones of governance.
Mr Yusuf Sule, Director of the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA) in the Federal Ministry of Finance, said that the government had recovered a lot of money through the policy.
“Within a few months of its introduction, the government was able to recover huge sums of money.
“It followed up on the avalanche of tips, via SMS, emails, and phone calls from members of the public, particularly to the Federal Ministry of Finance’s portal,” Sule said.
Sule said that there must be a legal framework to drive the Policy and give adequate protection to the whistleblower as provided in the Bill.
He also said that whistleblowers should be adequately rewarded and made heroes and heroines in their ccommunities encourage more whistleblowers to come forward.
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