FG approves new whistleblower bill, cancels tax holiday

The Federal Government passed a new whistleblower draft bill on Wednesday.InformationGuideNigeria

The report also highlighted that the existing whistle-blowing policy, which was implemented on December 21, 2016, is losing steam.

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The Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Dr. Zainab Ahmed, stated this to State House Correspondents during the Council meeting convened by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja this week.JAMB Portal

The Whistleblower Protection Act, facilitated by the Federal Ministry of Finance and enacted in December 2016 by the Buhari administration, provides legal protection for individuals who voluntarily expose acts of fraud, bribery, looted government funds and assets, financial misconduct, and other forms of corruption.

A whistleblower who gives information about financial mismanagement or a tip regarding stolen cash to the ministry’s portal is awarded between 2.5 and 5% of the funds recovered by the Nigerian government.

Ahmed stated following this week’s FEC meeting that the Council accepted the draft measure to improve the fight against corruption and protect whistleblowers who give the FG with useful information.NYSC Portal

She said, “The Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning presented several 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.

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“The purpose of operationalising and putting in place a whistleblower bill is to strengthen the fight against corruption and to enable protection for whistleblowers that provide information for use by the government.

“As you know, since 2016, the Council has approved the setting up the Presidential Initiative of Continuous Audit. PICA has been working in partnership with EFCC, ICPC, DSS, and NFIU and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.

“We noticed that the whistleblower policy response has lost momentum. We embarked on engagement in the six geo-political zones, and one of the main outcomes we found is that people are concerned about their safety due to providing information. So, this bill is critical to ensure the effectiveness of the retention of the whistle policy.”

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