Business
THE Federal Ministry of Finance has released N375.8 million to the first batch of 20 providers of information under the Whistleblower Policy.
The payment, of various amounts totaling N375,875,000, relate to the recovery of N11,635,000,000 .
According to Kemi Adeosun, minister for Finance, the payment, which is the first under the Whistleblower Policy, underscores the commitment of the President Muhmmadu Buhari-led administration in meeting obligations to information providers under the Whistleblower Policy. The policy is an essential tool in the fight against corruption.
In a statement issued in Abuja, on Wednesday, Adeosun noted the recent amendments to the Whistleblower Policy which includes the introduction of a formal legal agreement between information providers and the federal government, which is executed by the Minister of Justice (Attorney-General of the Federation). Procedures have also been introduced to ensure the protection of the identity of information providers during the payment process.
She said that all payments are taxable and are only made upon confirmation of the final recovery of assets as confirmed by the Attorney-General of the Federation as being free of legal disputes or litigation
The Whistleblower Unit, WBU, a multi-agency team, is resident in Ministry of Finance Headquarters. It is staffed by secondees from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, Department of State Services, DSS, the Nigeria Police Force and Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit, PICA, among others.
“The Whistleblower Unit is the first line of response to whistleblower information, where initial review is undertaken before cases are forwarded to the relevant investigative agencies,” the statement said.
– June 8, 2017 @ 3:55 GMT /
Tags: Attorney-General Commission Department of State Services DSS Federal Ministry of Finance Federation Headquarters Initiative Presidential Unit WBU Whistleblower
