Nigeria’s House of Representatives committee has summoned the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed, along with other government officials, to clarify the implementation of the whistleblower policy. The policy, launched in 2016, encourages Nigerians to report cases of fraud, bribery, looted government funds, financial misconduct, and other forms of corruption to the Ministry of Finance. The officials were summoned during a public hearing by the committee investigating the alleged loss of $2.4 billion in revenue from the illegal sale of 48 million barrels of crude oil in 2015.
The committee chairman, Mark Gbillah, revealed that his committee had received reports that Malami received funds outside the country through the whistleblower policy but did not remit it to the federation account. He also claimed that the finance minister approved payments to whistleblowers which were not in line with the policy. The committee is investigating the issue of crude oil export in general and looking at whistleblower revelations and recoveries which the federal government has publicly declared that they have made.
Gbillah further revealed that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) wrote to the committee, complaining that some agencies of the government operated their treasury single account (TSA) without getting approval from the apex bank. He said the CBN report was “alarming” because the constitution stipulates that all revenue accruing to the federation must be paid into the federation account.
The committee is also expecting the appearance of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission, Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Index (NEITI), oil and gas companies who engage in export, accountant-general of the federation, budget office to “provide clarification to the issues under investigations.” Gbillah said the committee would exercise its “statutory powers” to compel the appearance of anyone who fails to honour the summon of the lawmakers.
Malami's spokesperson, Umar Gwandu, said his principal was “never involved” or received funds without remitting them to the government. In December 2022, the House of Representatives set up an ad hoc committee to investigate a whistleblower’s claims that 48 million barrels of Bonny Light crude were illegally sold in China in 2015. The committee was also to investigate all crude oil exports and sales by Nigeria from 2014 till date.
The identities of those who will provide the committee with information, documents, and facts on the matter will be protected.
The investigation into the whistleblower policy implementation is expected to address the concerns of corruption and ensure compliance with constitutional provisions for revenue accruing to the federation account. The outcome of the investigation will help to strengthen the whistleblower policy and foster a culture of transparency and accountability in the government.
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