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FG approves new whistleblower bill, cancels tax holiday
The purpose of operationalizing and putting in place a whistleblower bill is to strengthen the fight against corruption and to enable…
A new whistleblower draft bill was approved by the federal government on Wednesday. The current whistleblowing policy, which was introduced on December 21, 2016, was similarly criticized as losing steam.
Following the weekly Council meeting at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja, which was presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning Dr. Zainab Ahmed revealed this to State House Correspondents.
The Whistleblower Protection Act, introduced in December 2016 by the Buhari-led administration and supported by the Federal Ministry of Finance, offers legal protection for people who voluntarily reveal instances of fraud, bribery, looted government funds and assets, financial misconduct, and other types of corruption.
Additionally, the policy offers a reward of 2.5 to 5% of the monies recovered by the Nigerian government to a whistleblower who informs the ministry’s portal of any financial mismanagement or tipoff about stolen funds.
Speaking following this week’s FEC meeting, Ahmed claimed that the Council had adopted the proposed legislation to bolster the battle against corruption and safeguard informants who help the FG.
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She 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 operationalizing 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 of the Presidential Initiative of Continuous Audit. PICA has been working in partnership with EFCC, ICPC, DSS, 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.”