CSO Says Legislative Muscle for Whistle-Blowing Will Enhance Accountability, Devt in Delta

Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba 

The Global Peace Development (GPD), a Civil Society Organisation (CSO), has harped on the need for the Delta State Government to accelerate the process of translating the transparency-enhancing whistleblowing policy into justiciable legal instrument by legislating on whistle blower protection.

Executive Director of the GPD, Mr. Ebruke Esike, who made the appeal in Asaba on Saturday, at a one-day training for traditional media practitioners and social media influencers on the Whistle-Blower Protection Bill 2024, stressed that such legislation was undoubtedly in the interest of the masses and ordinary citizens of the state.

The theme of the media event was “Citizen Engagement and Capacity Strengthening for Reinforced Governance and Social Accountability,” which programme was organised with support from the Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room and the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office of the UK Aid.

Esike, who hinted at the apparently good disposition of the Oborevwori administration to strengthening Whistle-Blowing, considering Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s insistence on prudence and accountability in the management of public funds vis-á-vis instituting a whistleblowing policy and releasing a phone line for use by members of the public.

The government should move quickly from the level of policy to transmitting the whistleblowing bill to the State House of Assembly for proper legislation and due passage towards the state governor’s assent or signing into law.

Esike who observed that Delta State has received an enormous amount as federal allocation from January 2025 to date, said that Delta was in urgent need to legislate towards protecting the whistle blower in the state for the sake of more transparency in governance and development.

He said, “These receipts are huge and enough to transform the landscape of the entire state if properly monitored via whistleblowing.

“However, the people are afraid to report noticeable flaws because there is no legislation to back them up and protect them from harm.”

Though commendable, the release of the whistleblowing line to the public cannot sufficiently deepen the process or prompt people, for example, to report poorly executed projects and identified corruption in ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) without real threats to their interest and even lives, he pointed out.

The whistleblowing law has great potentials for benefiting every sector of the society and economy by prescribing adequate punishment for those who provide false information to shortchange the state.

He noted that the need to protect the identity of the whistleblower was sacrosanct and that an adequate reward system be guaranteed to enable them to become effective.

He urged the traditional media and social media influencers to push the project and ensure the transmission of the whistleblowers bill to the State House of Assembly for legislation.

He further said that, with PFM Law 2022 in place, implementation of the law should not be delayed.

“Whistle-Blowing has many implications, in terms of development, accountability, and stewardship for the people, and that is why we are calling for its strengthening; and, this is not without the support of the Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room and the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office of the UK Aid”, Esike said.

In his remarks, Churchill Oyowe, Chairman of the Delta State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), assured of the media support through media engagement, public sensitisation, articles, and community engagement.

Oypwe assured, “We shall explore the social media space through content creation, storytelling, and hashtag campaigns, as well as monitor and counter oppositions of the bill.”