Buhari urged to pass whistleblowing law before leaving office

The Whistleblowing Advocacy Coalition has urged the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the National Assembly to expedite action on passage of the whistleblower protection legislation before ending their tenure in May 2023.

They made the call to mark the 2022 International Anti-Corruption Day at a news conference and unveiling of the Abuja Declaration on whistle blowing legislation yesterday in Abuja.

Members of the coalition are African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Progressive Impact Organisation for Community Development (PRIMORG), Social Development Integrated Centre, International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Amnesty International Nigeria and Orderpaper Advocacy Initiative.

The Programme Manager, AFRICMIL Mr. Kolawole Ogunbiyi; Senior Programme Officer AFRICMIL, Mr. Godwin Onyeacholem; Project Coordinator, PRIMORG, Ms. Adaobi Obiabunmuo; and Programmes Coordinator, Social Action, Mr Botti Isaac jointly spoke on behalf of the coalition.

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Ogunbiyi said the coalition identified undue delay in putting in place a framework for protection of citizens who blow the whistle as one of the gaps in the fight against corruption.

“There has been noticeable severe reduction in people’s interest in passing information to anti-corruption agencies. The major reason is that the whistle-blowing policy which this administration introduced six years ago has remained a policy with no framework for protecting whistleblowers who are continually subjected to all kinds of punishment for reporting fraud and corrupt practices in their offices.

“A significant step in concretising their resolve was taken on November 8 in Abuja, where CSOs and media partners came up with the ‘The Abuja Declaration of Action on Whistle-blowing Legislation and Whistle-blower Protection in Nigeria,” Ogunbiyi said.