The African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) has expressed deep concern in regards to the delay within the passage of the whistleblowing and whistleblower safety invoice into regulation in Nigeria.
In a letter to Chief Adebayo Olawale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, AFRICMIL’s Coordinator, Dr. Chido Onumah, stated: “We cannot emphasize 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.”
AFRICMIL noticed that the ninth National Assembly didn’t move the invoice into regulation for causes which have remained unclear, declaring that, within the face of unchecked retaliation inspired by the dearth of authorized cowl, many potential whistleblowers have suggested themselves in opposition to blowing the whistle on wrongdoing.
“As a consequence, accountability in both public and private sectors has continued to suffer to a large extent,” the letter acknowledged.
The group recalled that, at a whistleblowing sensitization workshop hosted by the Federal Ministry of Finance final August, the Minister reiterated the significance of whistleblowing and the necessity for a whistleblower safety regulation as a method of addressing corrupt practices and different illegalities within the nation.
According to the letter, at that occasion, the Minister promised to make sure the immediate passage of the invoice into regulation.
“We are happy to note that, as promised, you sent the bill back to the Presidency. But we are worried that it appears no action has been taken since then to move the bill from the Presidency to the National Assembly for a more meaningful outcome,” AFRICMIL famous.
It urged the minister to deploy his goodwill to trigger “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,” the letter famous.