AFRICMIL expresses concern over delay in passing whistleblower protection law, writes Minister of Finance

Chief Edu

The African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), a non-governmental organisation, has expressed dismay over the delay in the passage of a whistleblower protection law in Nigeria.

In a letter, “Concerns about the Delay in the Passage of a Whistleblower Protection Law in Nigeria,” and addressed to the Minister of Finance & Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Chief Adebayo Olawale Edun, the organisation said it was worried about the delay in passing the law, which according to the body, will enhance the anti corruption war in the country.

The letter signed by Dr. Chido Onumah, Coordinator, AFRICMIL, outlined the importance of the law, saying whistleblowing is important tool for fighting corruption and other forms of wrongdoing in the society.

AFRICMIL dedicated to media, information, research, advocacy and training, has since 2017, as part of our good governance and accountability project, been working with the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA) of the Finance Ministry for enthronement of good governance in the country.

“We are compelled to write to express our deep concern about the delay in the passage of the whistleblowing and whistleblower protection bill into law. We cannot emphasise enough that a protection law is long overdue, nor can the critical role of whistleblowers in the achievement of transparency, accountability and good governance be understated.

“The 9th National Assembly failed to pass the bill into law for reasons that have remained unclear to us. In the face of unchecked retaliation encouraged by the lack of a legal cover, many potential whistleblowers have advised themselves against blowing the whistle on wrongdoing.

“As a consequence, accountability in both public and private sectors have continued to suffer to a large extent. It is now six months since you reiterated the importance of whistleblowing and the need for a whistleblower protection law at a sensitization workshop you hosted at the Federal Ministry of Finance. At that event, you also promised to ensure a prompt passage of the bill into law,” Dr. Onumah asserted.

He, however, said that the organisation was happy to note that as promised, “you sent the bill back to the Presidency. But we are worried that it appears that no action has been taken since then to move the bill from the Presidency to the National Assembly for a more meaningful outcome.”

He urged the Minister to use his good offices to cause immediate positive action to be taken so Nigeria can have a whistleblower protection law and join Ghana which is the only country to date in West Africa to have such a progressive sunshine law.

“There is no doubt that having a whistleblower protection law will be a great leap forward in the desire for democratic accountability in Nigeria and the subregion at a time President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the chairman of ECOWAS.

“While looking forward to a positive response, sir, please be assured of our highest regards always,” Dr. Onumah concluded