FG Introduces Bill To Protect Whistleblowers, As Finance Minister Spills Top Secret
- The federal government is on course to revive whistleblowing culture as we approach the penultimate month of the general election
- Minister of finance, Zainab Ahmed has confessed that the whistleblowing policy has lost its momentum
- She, however, disclosed that in a bid to revive it, a Draft Bill has been approved to further strengthen and protect the policy
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FCT, Abuja - The federal executive council (FEC) has complained that the Nigerian whistleblower has lost its value and strength due to the fear of the safety of the subject involved.
The unanimous objective of the federal executive council (FEC) was confirmed on Wednesday, December 15 during their meeting at the Aso Villa in Abuja.
Source: Twitter
Meanwhile, the minister of finance, Zainab Ahmad at the meeting said there is a remedy to correct these shortcomings while speaking on the new draft bill.
She stated that the bill was coined to help shield the whistleblower's policy and further strengthen its effectiveness, durability, transparency, and acceptance by the general public.
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Zainab said:
“The ministry of finance, budget, and national planning presented a number of 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 also enable protection for whistleblowers that provide information for use by the government."
She also noted that the presidential initiative of continuous audit (PICA) is ongoing and has overtime worked in partnership with some of the top anti-graft and security agencies in the country.
Whistleblowing policy has lost momentum - Finance minister
Zainab at the meeting revealed that the rate at which whistleblowing has dropped is alarming and disturbing. The finance minister claimed that the policy has lost its viability and momentum.
She revealed that in order to remedy the shortcoming, there was an outreach to all six geo-political zones and the singular and prevalent outcome from those surveys was that people were concerned about their safety.
Zainab said:
"So this bill (Draft Bill) is critical to ensure the effectiveness of the retention of the whistle policy.”
As reported by TheCable, whistleblowers are expected to earn at least 2.5% to 5% from the funds recovered by the federal government.
Zainab further revealed that the draft bill has been approved by the council and it will foster the protection of whistleblowers and the fight against corruption in the country.
Senate summons Buhari's minister over unexplained spending
In another development, the Senate on Wednesday, November 2, sent an invitation to the minister of finance, Zainab Ahmed over some unexplained spending in the ministry of power.
The red chamber's committee on power is wondering why there is an inclusion of N147 billion in the allocation for the ministry.
Senator Gabriel Suswam, the chairman of the committee, also noted that the expenditure for the slated projects needs an explanation.
Source: Legit.ng
