We’ve Recovered N594.09bn in Three Years Due to Whistleblowing, Says Sagay

We’ve Recovered N594.09bn in Three Years Due to Whistleblowing, Says Sagay

POLITICS DIGEST – The Federal Government has revealed that the Whistleblowing Policy has led to the recovery of N594.09bn in less than three years since it was introduced, the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay, has said.

He revealed this on Wednesday at a two-day roundtable organised by the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), PACAC and the MacArthur Foundation in Abuja, with the theme: “Entrenching Whistleblowing in Regulatory and Revenue-Generating Agencies”.

He also said the policy recorded 791 cases of infractions from ‘actionable tips’ in the same period. He said the policy has been very successful not only in terms of assets recovered but also by revelation of magnitude of various scams used by fraudulent Nigerians in bleeding the country’s purse.

“As at November 2019, less than three years after the introduction of the policy, the Federal Government had recovered N594.09bn from the implementation of the policy,” Sagay said.

According to him, the success of the policy had led to calls from Nigerians abroad that the Federal Government should export the initiative to known countries where looted funds are usually laundered.

Sagay said, “Some Nigerians living abroad, particularly in the USA, have suggested that the whistle blower’s policy should be operated abroad in order to expose Nigerians who loot our funds, and then launder them abroad by buying expensive properties in the name of their relatives living or studying abroad.

“According to those pushing this proposal, some former governors transferred public funds abroad and used them to purchase expensive and luxurious properties in the names of their relations residing in the foreign country concerned.

“The idea is that our government should appropriately tip-off contact with the FBI in the USA to investigate such relations regarding their source of funds for the properties in their names.”