The Federal government says the Whistleblower policy has lost its steam and there is a need to further strengthen the policy to support the fight against corruption.
The Federal Executive Council have now approved the draft whistleblower bill for 2022, with a provision to ensure alignment with the Evidence Act.
President Buhari’s administration launched the whistleblowing policy in 2016, it was welcomed with fanfare and seen as a to tackle corruption, which was one of the focus areas of the government.
This whistle blower policy could not stand the test of time because of the lack of protection laws that would guarantee the safety of whistleblowers.
Six years after the law was introduced, the Federal Government is now putting in place a legal framework for a policy that will significantly enhance the fight against corruption.
The federal Executive Council also approved the 2022 finance bill designed to support the implementation of next year’s budget.
This bill that will be forwarded to the national assembly also seeks to amend quite a number of fiscal laws in the country.
There will now be a revised national social protection policy which is an offshoot of a previous policy that was implemented from 2017 to 2020.
Minister of state for budget and national planning said a National Social Protection Council chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will be set up to coordinate the implementation of the policy.
The federal executive council also approved a total of 9.24 billion naira for the group life insurance cover of all government agencies, officials, para military and intelligence agencies for the period of 2022 to 2023.
This week’s federal executive council meeting was chaired by professor Yemi Osinbajo in the absence of President Muhammadu Buhari who is in Washington attending the US-AFRICA Leadership summit.
The whistleblower Policy was introduced as part of efforts aimed at enhancing the Anti Corruption fight of the Buhari administration and was initially hugely successful and now is in need of reforms after a few years.
