POLITICS
Organisation Seeks Legal Framework to Protect Whistle Blowers
The African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), a nonprofit organisation, has called for urgent legal framework for the Federal Government’s whistleblowing policy to protect informants.
Dr Chido Onumah, Coordinator of AFRICMIL, made the call at a Policy Roundtable tagged “Towards a Whistleblower Protection Law in Nigeria’’ in Abuja.
Onumah said that whistleblowers play positive roles in the prevention of and fight against corruption and the promotion of human rights in Nigeria.
“Over the years, we have uncovered and disclosed information on various corrupt and suspicious dealings linked to politically exposed persons and corrupt officials.
“This lead to wider public debates about corruption and the need for accountability, however, instead of being recognised for their work and encouraged, whistleblowers are hindered by those whose interests they threaten.
“ Some face reprisals such as dismissal, threats, physical violence or abusive legal proceedings, while others are forced into exile or even killed.
“Regrettably, in Nigeria, whistleblowers face a lack of safe and an enabling legal environment that allows them to report wrongdoing without fear of reprisals,” he said.
According to Onumah, this lack of effective whistleblower protection regime is compounded by the existence of ineffective access to laws to enable citizens obtain information held by public institutions.
He added that the lack of effective and independent judicial institutions that could provide access to justice and effective remedies for human rights violations was also ineffective.
“Over the years, particularly since the Federal Government introduced a Whistleblowing Policy in December 2016, there have been efforts to enact a whistleblower protection law in Nigeria without success.
“Today’s event is one more attempt in this regard. So far, about ten out of 55 African countries have adopted specific laws to protect whistleblowers.
“At a time when many jurisdictions in Africa and around the world are adopting whistleblower protection laws, this intervention seeks to put the spotlight on whistleblower protection in Nigeria,’’he said
Onumah said through a nationwide survey conducted by AFRICMIL in 2021, it was observed that Nigerians were of the view that the absence of a whistleblowing law was the major hindrance to the success of whistleblowing in Nigeria.
He, therefore, said the aim of this intervention was to develop key ideas and strategies to put whistleblowing and the passage of a whistleblower protection law in Nigeria on the front burner of national conversation.
Also speaking, Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, the Executive Secretary and National Coordinator of Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) affirmed NEITI’s commitment to advocating for the safety, protection, and welfare of whistleblowers.
Represented by Mr Kingsley Ochasi,Legal Officer, NEITI, Orji that whistleblowers are real heroes of transparency and stressed the need for the National Assembly to promptly pass the whistleblower protection bill.
He commanded AFRICMIL for its contribute towards building a more accountable and equitable Nigeria adding that NEITI was proud to have the centre as its partner.
In his contribution, Dr Kole Shettima, the Director of MacArthur Foundation said that whistleblowing as a tool in the fight against corruption has great value, however, lack of legal protection remained the challenges and setbacks.
Shettima said that the importance of ensuring the safety and protection of individuals who engaged in whistleblowing activities was a collective concern, thus emphasising the need for a legal framework.
A representative of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission(ICPC) Ms Nneka Chukwuma-Okere, Legal Officer, ICPC said the commission had put measures in place to make good use of whistleblowers’ information.
Chukwuma-Okere said the commission tries to keep the identities of whistleblowers secret to protect them.
“Our section 27, gives us the rights as public individuals to report and we also have anti-corruption unions which we up in various MDAs to help with the fight against corruption.
“So today, we are looking forward to deliberations with other sister agencies to move forward in this whistleblowing policies.’’
Reports says that the Whistle-blower Policy is not a Law of the National Assembly.
NAN reports that tthe whistle-blowing Policy in Nigeria is an anti-corruption programme that encourages people to voluntarily disclose information about fraud, bribery, looted government funds, financial misconduct, government assets and any other form of corruption or theft to the Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Finance.
NAN reports that a former Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami,SAN, said that within the first two months of the Whistle-blowing policy in Nigeria, the federal government recovered over 178 million dollars that were stolen from the government.
By June 5, 2017, Federal Ministry of Finance received a total of 2,150 tips from the public, 128 tips came through the website of the ministry, 1,192 was through phone calls, 540 through SMS and 290 through email to the ministry. By July/August 2017, a total of 5000 tips was received.
Also, in October 2017, former acting ohairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu said that N527,643,500; $53,222.747; GBP21,222,890 and Euro 547,730 was recovered since the policy was launched.(NAN)
The Abia Chapter of the INEC Staff Welfare Association (ISWA) has warned its members to uphold the integrity of the commission and guard against the culture of manipulating election results.
The Abia Chairman of the association, Mr Collins Eze, gave the advice at the group’s general meeting and end-of-year party in Umuahia.
Speaking in an interview with newsmen on the sideline of the ceremony, Eze said that the staff members were adequately aware of their enormous responsibility and should ensure free, fair and credible elections.
He said: “We have also told our colleagues that anywhere they find themselves they should make sure that they do the needful by ensuring transparency in the conduct of elections.
“We have always told them not to allow anybody to induce them with money to manipulate election results.
“I’m happy that they have been building the capacity of our colleagues on election processes.
“So, in the coming years, we won’t have any problem in ensuring free, fair and peaceful elections.”
He said that the end-of-year party was special as it afforded them the opportunity “to wine and dine together as well as thank God for sustaining them in 2024”.
Eze said that his leadership had introduced various means of assisting members in dire financial needs by providing platforms to solicit suppory for them.
He expressed gratitude to members for their support and cooperation, describing them as the “secret behind the success of this administration”.
He said that 34 of at least 350 staff members of the commission in the state retired from service in 2024.
According to him, the development has placed a huge financial burden on the association, in terms of their welfare and entitlement as members.
Report says that each member received a carton of tomato paste as Christmas gift from the association. (NAN)
A chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Osita Okechukwu, has told the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to be thankful to God that its 16-year administration was not probed by the successive APC-led governments.Okechukwu stated this on Tuesday in Abuja, while reacting to a statement by PDP congratulating Ghanaians for the conduct of free, fair and transparent general elections.
Report says that PDP had, in a statement, said that the verdict of the people of Ghana in the presidential election was a signal to the APC that its days were numbered. The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, had said in the statement that the power of the people in Nigeria, just like in Ghana, would ‘surely prevail and end the APC’s oppressive rule’.This, he said, would “return Nigeria to the path of good governance, security, political stability and economic prosperity on the platform of the PDP in 2027.”However, in his reactions to Ologunagba’s statement, Okechukwu said that the PDP clan should thank God that former President Muhammadu Buhari and President Bola Tinubu, out of sheer statesmanship, had refused to probe ‘the 16 locus years of PDP administrations’.Okechukwu, a former Director-General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), described the 16 years of PDP administrations as ones full of squandering and lack of plan.He said that Nigeria had yet to recover from the humongous culture of impunity and trust deficit planted by PDP on the Nigerian soil.Okechukwu said corruption was among the culture of impunity, saying it governed the privatisation of Nigeria’s electricity value chain, a key element in the country’s industrialisation drive.“Another is the blatant rigging of the 2007 general elections which the foremost beneficiary, President Umaru Yar’Adua, out of good conscience and noble magnanimity, publicly acknowledged the malfeasance which characterised his victory,” he said.Okechukwu also mentioned what he called conscienceless sale of the legislative and ministerial quarters, the annual rentage of which, he said, was bleeding the country’s treasury.“Another one is the neglect of $23 billion Greenfield Refinery, which could have saved over $70 billion expended on importation of refined petroleum products and which simulated the economic hardship of today,” he said.On why, for nine years, the APC administration could not fix those challenges, he recalled the efforts made by the Buhari administration to reopen talks on the Greenfield Refinery which, according to him, the Chinese regrettably rebuffed.The former VON director-general said that Nigerians were not in a hurry to forget the deliberate breach of the rotational convention of president from the north to the south.He said that the country could not also forget the utter disregard for Section 7 of the PDP’s constitution which expressly mandated zoning.Okechukwu advised the PDP not to insult the sensibilities of Nigerians by assuming that citizens would easily forget how they were put in the harms way.He said that PDP should thank God that Buhari and Tinubu did not want to probe them, adding “that’s why Nigerians cannot decipher the difference between the two political parties.” (NAN)
Sen. Ned Nwoko (PDP-Delta) says that Local Government Administration is central to democracy in Nigeria as it ensures grassroots governance and service delivery at the local level.This is contained in a statement signed by Dr Michael Nwoko, the Chief of Staff to the lawmaker in Abuja on Monday.Nwoko said this on the occasion of the presentation of an award “Icon of Hope” to him by the Association of Local Government Vice Chairmen of Nigeria (ALGOVC).
He was represented by his Chief of Staff. He said that the importance of local government administration in the country could not be overemphasised, as it was the bedrock of democracy.According to him, local governments in Nigeria play key roles in the country’s democracy by promoting participatory democracy, providing services, and representing citizens.“Local Governments help determine local needs and how to meet them. They also act as a link between the centre, state, and local people.“They are created to decentralise power and bring the government closer to the people. They perform both mandatory and concurrent functions.“It is in view of this that I took it upon myself to enhance the viability of local governments through the Paris and London club loan refunds,”he said.Dr Folashade Olabanji-Oba, ALGOVC National Chairman, while presenting the award at its 7th Annual National Conference, said the award was in recognition of the lawmaker’s significant contributions to strengthening local government administration.She highlighted Nwoko’s critical role in ensuring the Paris and London Club loan refunds, a financial breakthrough she said enhanced the capacity of local governments nationwide.(NAN)
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