Government records 5000 whistleblowing reports in eight months, says Adeosun

Withon eight months of the establishment of a whistleblowing strategy for the combat of corrupt practices, more than 5000 reports have been recorded. With a greater percentage of the alarms raised by workers in the public service, the policy is one of the administration’s successful initiatives.

The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, said this yesterday in Abuja at a seminar organised by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) on “The Whistleblower Policy and its Implication for Public Servants.’’

She revealed that much of the success of the policy has relied on the decision of the whistleblower to do the right thing, adding: “ I can tell you that out of the 365 actionable tips we have received, over half of them have come from public servants touching on issues such as contract inflation, ghost workers, illegal recruitments, misappropriation of funds, illegal sale of Government assets, diversion of revenues, and violation of TSA regulations, amongst others.”

Overall, she pointed out that the volume of tips received has been greater and of higher quality than expected when the programme was first adopted. She said government has continued to receive information everyday with total communication reaching above 5,000 in July through the various reporting channels.

She challenged the public servants to do more because there was still a long way to go. She assured that the protection of public sector whistleblowers from retaliation for reporting in good faith was integral to government’s effort to combat corruption, safeguard integrity, and enhance accountability.

According to Adeosun: “ We have worked hard in ensuring that we have the right systems, processes and protection in place for public servants to raise their concerns about possible violations or misconduct. This is something we are keen on achieving. Regaining the trust and integrity of the public service is a significant focus for this administration.“

She said Nigeria’s whistle blower policy is consistent with many other countries such as Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and the United States who have passed comprehensive and dedicated legislation to protect whistleblowers.

The whistleblower unit consisting of representatives from the various investigative agencies, is expected to go on a tour of Australia to understudy how they have been able to successfully implement the policy.

Earlier, the Director General of the BPSR, Dr. Joe Abah resaid that as a result of the public sector reform programme, service has improved in a lot of government establishments.