CSOs, Nigerians ask Buhari to enact Whistleblowers’ law before leaving office

Nigerians and civil society groups have urged President Buhari-led federal government and the 9th National Assembly to give the nation a whistleblowing law before leaving office on May 29, 2023. President Buhari’s administration had, in December 2016, rolled out a whistleblowing policy as part of efforts to follow through with his sworn fight against corruption, […]

Nigerians and civil society groups have urged President Buhari-led federal government and the 9th National Assembly to give the nation a whistleblowing law before leaving office on May 29, 2023.

President Buhari’s administration had, in December 2016, rolled out a whistleblowing policy as part of efforts to follow through with his sworn fight against corruption, which continues to be fraught with issues to date due to the absence of legislative backing.

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The fresh call for the federal government to legally secure whistleblowing in Nigeria was made during a town hall meeting organized by the African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) in collaboration with the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development (PRIMORG) Friday in Abuja.

During the town hall meeting, AFRICMIL’s Programme Officer, Godwin Onyeacholem, called on President Buhari to leverage his rapport with the leadership of the National Assembly to ensure the whistleblowing bills are harmonized, fast-tracked, passed, and signed into law before leaving office.

Onyeacholem expressed worry over the lacklustre attitude of the government towards getting legislation that will strengthen whistleblower policy and adequately protect whistleblowers, stressing that “the non-passage of whistleblowing law from 2016 to date points to lack of political will.”

Similarly, legal practitioner Godwin Chigbu stated that the possibility of enacting a whistleblowing law in Nigeria is very high, considering the excellent relationship between the Executive and most legislators.

On his part, Deputy Editor Daily Trust, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, revealed that the lack of legislation for whistleblowing in Nigeria is affecting the Nigerian media from holding public officials to account.

He urged journalists not to relent in exposing corrupt acts in the society despite the hostile environment they operate in.