As Nigeria marks the 2022 International Anti-corruption Day, civil society organisations under the guise of Whistleblowing Advocacy Coalition (WAC) have identified delay in enactment of a legislation to protect whistleblowers as a major setback in the fight against corruption.
The Coalition made this known in a press statement issued in commemoration of the International Anti-Corruption Day, titled:” Whistleblowing Legislation and Whistleblower Protection in Nigeria”, Thursday in Abuja.
According to WAC, the fight against corruption in Nigeria is being dealt a massive blow due to undue delay in putting in place a framework for the protection of citizens who are courageous enough to report corruption.
Noting that the enthusiasm shown by citizens in the early stages of the whistleblowing policy which resulted in frequent recovery of looted public funds, has severely reduced as people are no more interested in passing on information to the anti-corruption agencies.
“The major reason is that the whistleblowing 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.
“Many whistleblowers in the public sector have been visited with adverse actions ranging from dismissal, suspension without pay, denial of salary and promotion, intimidation, harassment, etc. Even to exercise the right to refuse participation in corrupt acts attracts punishment from the management of public institutions.
“Thus, because workers see that their colleagues who report crime or refuse to be part of a crime are being victimized without any form of protection, many of them are discouraged from making disclosures on wrongdoing even when they see one. “
The Coalition, however revealed it aims to “strengthen advocacy for the passage of the whistleblowing and whistleblower protection bill and its enactment as a law before the Muhammadu Buhari administration winds up next year.”, hence came up with what is now known as ‘The Abuja Declaration of Action on Whistleblowing Legislation and Whistleblower Protection in Nigeria’.
“A significant step in concretizing this resolve was taken on November 8 in Abuja where the civil society and media partners who have for long demonstrated the passion to curb corruption in our polity came together to deliberate on whistleblowing practice in Nigeria.
“It is the Abuja Declaration that this coalition has the honour of unveiling today with the generous support of members. The coalition considers this a significant milestone in our struggle to ensure that a whistleblower protection law is enacted as a positive and sincere way of encouraging citizens to join the fight against corruption which is the original intent of the whistleblowing policy,” part of the statement read.
According to the Coalition, The Abuja Declaration features two major highlights: “The first is the recognition of whistleblowing as not just a mechanism for addressing fraud and illegalities, but also as a right of freedom of expression which is a fundamental human right that needs to be fully protected.
“The second feature is the unanimous endorsement of a strong coalition of duty bearers to intensify the campaign for an urgent realization of protection legislation.
“We are aware from the latest report from the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning which manages the whistleblowing policy that a draft whistleblower bill would this month be considered at a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting and sent to the National Assembly for passage. The coalition looks forward to this meeting and hopes that the FEC acts in the interest of our country,” WAC stated.
The Coalition said it has to expeditiously use the Abuja Declaration as a tool of engagement with all tiers of government, especially the National Assembly towards having a whistleblower law before the tenure of this administration ends in 2023.
The seven CSOs under the coalition that signed the statement include the African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), Progressive Impact Organisation for Community Development (PRIMORG), Amnesty International Nigeria, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Social Development Integrated Centre (Social Action), International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) and Orderpaper Advocacy Initiative (OrderPaper).