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Tag: whistleblowers

  • FG pays 14 whistleblowers N439m

    For helping the federal government  rake in  N13.8 billion from tax evaders,14 whistle blowers have been  rewarded with the sum of N439.276 million.

    The informants  tipped off government  on the affected  tax  evaders ,Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun told reporters yesterday.

    “The payment was made this week  after the federal government received the sum of N13.8 billion from the affected tax evaders, mostly corporate organizations, based on tips from whistleblowers,” the minister said.

    This reward is different from that given to those who provide information on stolen public funds.

    By June 2017 a total  N375.8 million  had been  paid to the first batch of 20 providers of information  on stolen funds under the Whistleblower Policy.

    The payment, of various amounts totalling N375,875,000, was in respect of  the recovery of N11,635,000,000.

    Government,according to Adeosun, is  actively preparing cases for prosecution against tax evaders by  the end of next month  when the tax amnesty will end.

    She said the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) is faring well as “we are getting far more tips on tax evasions, which of course is a crime against us all.”

    She said that since the introduction of the VAIDS in 2017 to peacefully bring in more tax payers into the tax net to boost revenue, the Federal Government’s data mining efforts have  identified over 130,000 high net worth individuals and companies that have potential tax underpayments issues against them.

    The minister also told reporters of how some people she did not identify had tried to sell off over 100 government properties abroad.

    She said the properties ,belonging to Nigeria’s   foreign missions and federal government agencies, had been left out of  an earlier audit by government officials who went round the world to take an inventory of such properties.

    Some of the buildings were abandoned,she said,and “some people were trying to sell them off and we had to stop them.”

    The  buildings were only captured in a later audit.

    Apart from the Whistleblower initiative, data is being compiled by Project Lighthouse, which  is a unique project of the Federal Ministry of Finance that combines data from Federal and State agencies and overseas countries.

    Adeosun once revealed that, “data have been received from a number of sources including land registries of the Governments of Lagos, Kaduna, Kano and Ogun States as well as the Federal Capital Territory.

    “In addition, Nigeria has been able to request data from a number of nations including traditional tax havens. The data have been received from a number of foreign jurisdictions under the exchange of information protocols.

    “Under the exchange of information protocols, this information relates to bank records and financial filings for tax purposes and is obtained from tax havens who are signatories to the information sharing agreements such as British Virgin Islands and Mauritius.”

    “The data received from overseas countries would only be used for taxation purposes in line with the protocols governing the exchange of information.

    The  common violations by non-compliant tax payers   include  under-declaration of and non-declaration of income earned including income from government contracts and overseas trading; Collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) which is not duly  remitted to FIRS; charging of non-allowable personal expenses to company accounts particularly with reference to overseas school fees; Inconsistency between income declared for tax purposes and the value of assets owned.

    On  the Budget, Adeosun was optimistic that  by the end of this month, about N1. 5 trillion would have been spent on capital projects.

  • Not all whistleblowers will get 5% reward – Sagay

    The Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), said on Friday that not all whistleblowers would get five per cent of the recovered sum.

    According to him, the reward could be as low as one per cent of what is recovered depending on the amount.

    The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, said the Federal Government has received 1,231 tips from whistleblowers since the policy was introduced in 2016.

    She said 791 investigations were commenced, 534 had been concluded, with N7.8billion, $378million and 27,800 pounds recovered so far.

    Sagay and Adeosun spoke in Abuja at an “Evaluation workshop on the whistleblower policy and the role of the inter-agency asset tracing team,” organised by PACAC.

    Adeosun was represented by Head, Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA) and Whistleblower Unit of the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Mohammed Dikwa.

    Sagay said Nigerians should be made aware that not every whistle blower would get five per cent of what is recovered.

    “One controversial issue in the policy is the question of remuneration. The public seems to be fixated on five per cent. But in fact, five per cent is the maximum.

    “It can be as little as one per cent, depending on the amount of money involved. It could be slightly more if it is an extremely large amount,” he said.

    The eminent professor of law described the whistleblower policy as “very successful,” adding that it was not limited to looted funds.

    “Things like breach of procurement practice, which is closely associated with corruption and unapproved expenditure by agencies, are all subject of whistleblowing,” Sagay said.

    Adeosun said the Whistle blower Team in her ministry went on a study tour of the United Kingdom and met with relevant agencies to learn best practices.

    “Following lessons learnt from the study tour, we will begin to focus more on preventive measures, putting in place tight control measures, making it more difficult for a few people to take away assets that belong to an entire country.

    “In addition to this, the investigation framework of the whistleblower policy will be reviewed.

    “We will continue to work with all stakeholders to improve the effectiveness of the policy and put in place required institutions and tools to achieve our objective,” she said.

    PACAC Executive Secretary, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, said not all acts of whistleblowing attract reward.

    For instance, he said a situation where a planned fund diversion is stopped, there would be no financial reward for the person who gave the tip-off.

    He, however, urged Nigerians to view whistleblowing as a civil duty and a constitutional responsibility.

    “There is a duty to report, even without the five per cent reward,” he said.

  • FG urges enumeration of electricity consumers

    FG urges enumeration of electricity consumers

    …NERC explains how to get transformer refund from DisCos

    …World Bank willing to provide $2.6b for Programme

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has said that the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry ( NESI ) needs to embark on the enumeration of electricity consumers.

    He noted that the electricity market lacks the knowledge of how much or how many people are utilizing the power since some customers bear the burden of paying for stolen energy owing to lack of meters for billing consumption.

    The minister however urged for social justice between the consumers and the service providers, calling on whistleblowers to assist the NESI with intelligence of energy theft that could lead to the arrest of the thieves.

    Fashola spoke during a workshop for the Civil Societies Organizations (CSOs) on the Power Sector Reform Programme in Abuja. 

    Blaming the commercial losses of the Distribution Companies (DisCos) on energy theft, he said that : “Energy theft is the cause, if you sell the product and you don’t collect the money, that business is in danger. So, I my opinion: we need to know how many people are using the electricity. We don’t know.  So, some people are paying for what others are using and we need meters to achieve justice between consumers and service providers. 

    “And as I said before this is a place we need a lot of whistleblowing, if you know anybody who is stealing energy call us so we will come and pick the person. So that he will stop being a problem to his community.”

    Some of the CSOs had lamented that the ministry was only considering the commercial losses of the DisCos, yet reticent about customers and communities that have also become investors, providing electricity cables, transformers and other equipment to the companies, who also charge them exorbitant estimated bills. 

    Fashola asked the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to respond to the CSOs position.

    Reacting, the Commissioner on Consumer Affairs, Dr. Moses Arigu, explained that the due process for community to follow to procure equipment as transformers for the DisCos is to start from informing the DisCo, the Nigerian Electricity Management Service Agency to arrange and ensure of the standard of the transformer prior to its procurement. 

    He added that “the money is supposed to be refunded. Again, you have to work it out with the DisCo and that is not physical cash but through energy crediting. So it is not that when we invest why should they send a bill again?”

    He revealed the final consultative forum for the metering regulation was held in Lagos on Monday and Tuesday. The document, according to him, will solve problems of estimated billings. 

    The Power Sector Recovery Programme Components aims at the definition of a “tariff adjustment trajectory, so that tariffs cover the revenue requirement of efficient service provision by 2021.

    “Establish the revenue requirement of DisCos and transmission (TCN), and consistently apply tariff adjustments according to the defined tariff trajectory with automatic adjustments as service delivery improves.”

    The Programme is also to develop a financing plan to fully-fund the shortfall (the difference between the sector revenue requirement and revenue under effective tariffs based on a defined tariff trajectory) until tariffs attain cost recovery levels, and support sector liquidity.

    The World Bank Group, according to the federal government, World Bank Group has indicated potential support for the  Programme totaling up to $2.6billion.

  • Saudi Arabia council studying proposals on whistleblowers

    Saudi Arabia council studying proposals on whistleblowers

    Saudi Arabia ’s Shura Council, a top advisory council to the government, is studying proposals for protection of people, who report financial crime, local media reported on Tuesday, following the government’s anti-corruption crackdown.

    Crown Prince Mohammed Salman has launched an inquiry into graft that has resulted in the detention of a dozens of princes, senior officials and businessmen.

    The Shura Council does not have legislative powers, but it can propose laws to the king and the cabinet.

    It said in a tweet on Monday that it had agreed on the “appropriateness of the draft proposal” for whistleblower protection for financial and administrative corruption.

    The Arabic-language newspaper Al-Riyadh reported on Tuesday that the council had agreed to study two proposals on the matter that also included protection of eyewitnesses, who report violations such as financial crime.

    Read also: Saudi Arabia expects Hajj revenues to exceed $4.2bn

    A top official said earlier this month that Saudi authorities have questioned 208 people in an anti-corruption investigation and estimate at least 100 billion dollars has been stolen through graft.

    “The Government of Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed Salman, is working within a clear legal and institutional framework to maintain transparency and integrity in the market,” Attorney-General Saud Al-Mojeb said in a statement on Nov. 9.

    The investigation has spread to the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, as the central bank asked commercial banks and finance companies there to provide details of the accounts of 19 Saudis detained in the crackdown.

    The UAE central bank governor said on Thursday the request by the central bank for local banks and finance companies to provide details of the accounts of 19 Saudi Arabian citizens was just an information-gathering exercise.

    NAN

  • Over 20 whistleblowers paid for money recovered – Minister

    Over 20 whistleblowers paid for money recovered – Minister

    Over 20 whistleblowers  have been paid by the federal government for providing information leading to the recovery of funds. 

    The Minister of Fiance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun disclosed this on Sunday while responding to the complaint of non-payment by the whistleblower on the money recovered in Ikoyi, Lagos.

    The Federal Government said it has not withheld any fund due to any whistleblower. 

    A from the federal ministry of finance signed by Yinka Akintunde Special Adviser to the Honourable Minister of Finance, said “the Ministry has in place detailed procedures for processing payments due under the Whistleblower Policy. The procedures were designed to prevent abuse and legal disputes and to ensure protection of the information providers.”

     These procedures he said “include an application by the agency who recovered the funds including evidence of the recovery, confirmation that there are no pending legal issues on the recovery, verification of the identity of the information provider, calculation of the amount payable and computation of relevant taxes.”

    ‘Payments are made in monthly batches to ensure control and to protect the identity of information providers. To date, over 20 of such persons have been paid.”

    Akintunde added that “from available records, the payment due on Ikoyi is among those being processed in the November batch, which will be released within the current month.”

     The Minister of finance reiterated that “the Whistleblowing Policy of the Federal Government remains one of the current Administration’s successful initiatives and that the Government is fully committed to ensuring that all those who responded to the policy and partnered with Government in the recovery effort are paid in full and most importantly have their identity protected.”

  • FG assures of protection of whistleblowers

    The Federal Government has assured that concrete efforts will be made to protect whistleblowers in the country as part of the ongoing anti corruption crusade in the country, while efforts will be made to checkmate corrupt practices in the nation’s universities.

    The government also said it intend to find an alternative means of sourcing funds for the revitalisation of infrastructure in the universities, while the office of the Accountant General of the Federation is to immediately commence the process of investigating universities that since maintain multiple accounts in violation of the Treasury Single Account policy of government.

    This was part of the resolution arrived at after over nine hours conciliatory meeting between the striking none teaching staff of Nigerian universities and the Federal Ministry of Education brokered by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige.

    The none teaching staff made up of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, None Academic Staff Union and National Association of Academic Technologists had commenced an indefinite strike action on Monday, September 11 to pressure government into honoring its commitment to them.

    The union are protesting:

    • Non-payment of earned allowances, 
    • Lack of good governance in the universities, 
    • Poor funding as against UNESCO Recommendation, 
    • Inadequate infrastructure in universities and issues of abandon projects, 
    • Short fall in the payments of salaries, 
    • University staff schools vis –a-vis the National Industrial Court judgment implementation, 
    • Non-registration of NUPENCO, 
    • Non implementation of CONTISS 14 AND 15 for technologist in the universities system, 
    • Problem of lack of adequate teaching and learning facilities in the university system, 
    • Corruption in the universities and
    • Lack of seriousness in the negotiation in the 2009 FGN/Non teaching staff agreement.

    Addressing newsmen after the meeting, Minister of Labour, Senator Chris Ngige said they also agreed that the government should expedite action and send visitation panels to federal universities that have not been visited and revisit the previous visitation panels for the purpose of implementation of their recommendations

    The Minister said: “We held discussions on all this areas and we reached agreement in all of them. As you know already, government has already approve and release some N23 billion for earned allowances in the universities and this is for teaching and non teaching staff of the various universities in Nigeria

    “We agreed on this and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation is to expedite action or mandate for this payment.

    “We have the issue of shortfall in salaries which is already being addressed and some universities are already credited with some amount of money for payment of their short falls”

    “On the implementation of the National Industrial Court Judgment on university staff schools, it is SSANU that went on that assignment on behalf of others at the National Industrial court

    “So the unions were inform that government through the National Universities Commission have issued circulars directing the universities to implement that judgement and that the Salaries and Wages Income Commission has initiated the process of ensuring compliance with the NIC judgment and we hoped that the process will be completed within four weeks.

    “On the non registration of NUPENCO as a Pension Fund Administrator, we reviewed the processes and what has been done by the consultant who is handing it on behalf of the unions and we reiterated our commitment that the appropriate filled forms and particulars are submitted within one week, while the Federal Ministry of Education will expedite  action to bring out the certificates.

    “On negotiation of the 2009 agreement we realised that Babalaki Committee is doing that and that they have collected Memorandum from the various unions. We agreed that the Babalakin committee should be encouraged to fast track the negotiation process.

    “On the issue of inadequate infrastructure, poor funding, as against UNESCO recommendation, the Federal Ministry of Education is in the process of inaugurating a nine-man committee, alternative means of sourcing of funds for the revitalisation of infrastructure in the universities and within a week the committee will be inaugurated, two members of the joint committee unions   will be incorporated in the committee

    “We reiterated the fact that government is not replicating the revitaliisation process and there is stand by commitment to release some funds in the of Sept. and Oct, for this purpose this of course without prejudices to the work of Babalakin committee.

    “On the issue of bad governance and corruption in the universities, the meeting jointly agreed that government intensify her effort to checkmate the excesses of corrupt officials in the university system.

    “The Federal Ministry of Education is to ensure academics stick to their teaches and research and stop doing more functions of the administration of the universities

    “The Federal Ministry of Education and Office of the Accountant General of the Federation should also as agreed monitor the internal revenue generated by the universities to curb mass corruption and ensure transparency.

    “The university administration should also operate the treasury single account TSA and the union also altered the office of the Accountant General of the Federation to investigate cases of universities that are still operating multiple accounts and the meeting agreed on that.

    “We also agreed that government should expedite action and send visitation panels to federal universities that have not been visited and revisit the previous visitation panels for the purpose of implementation of their recommendations.

    “Again on whistle blowing which is the new anti-corruption policy of this administration, government agreed with the unions that the whistle blowers should be protected.

    “On the issue of CONTIS 14 and CONTIS 15 for technologist, the technology union NAAT should provide the Federal Ministry of Education with information that would assist the ministry to develop appropriate scheme of service for the new cadre. 

    “That NAAT and the Federal Ministry of Education should work with the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to get the necessary approval for the National council of Establishment within the year 2017.”

    Both parties however agreed that union members should not be victimised on the account of this journey they have undertaken to go on strike  and the unions also are to revert to government Wednesday 20 sept after presenting this to its national executive council.

    Also speaking, President of SSANU who is also the leader of the non teaching staff, Comrade Samson Ugokwe said all issues brought by the unions were adequately discussed and positions taken which they will present to their National Executive Council meeting and revert back to government on Wednesday, September 20, 2017.

  • Whistleblowers, beware!

    It would be interesting to know what thoughts are going through Abubakar Sani’s mind right now. As a result of a court order, he will be remanded in prison custody till the case in which he is the accused comes up for hearing on November 2, three full months away.

    Sani was arraigned before Justice Aliyu Tukur of the Kaduna State High Court, on July 13, accused of  providing false information and misleading a public officer while on lawful duty. His trial was triggered by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on the grounds that his information had prompted a fruitless raid on the Kaduna residence of former Vice President Namadi Sambo on June 28, by ICPC and Directorate of State Services (DSS) operatives.

    A report said: “Counsel to the commission, Elijah Akaakohol, said the accused had provided the false information to an official of the commission on June 21, 2017. Akaakohol told the court that Sani had claimed to have transported boxes of money in local and foreign currencies from Abuja airport to the house at Ungwan Rimi GRA, Kaduna in 2013, which he suspected to be ill-gotten wealth and still at the house. The counsel added that it was based on the claim that the accused “made officers of the commission to carry out a sting operation that turned out to be false.”

    Interestingly, the report continued: “Sani, who appeared at the court without legal representation, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.”  This may well mean that Sani is unapologetic, which may further mean that he knew what he was talking about when he gave information about alleged hidden ill-gotten wealth to the agency.

    It is noteworthy that Sani reportedly claimed to have participated in moving the said money to the said house. Or could he have lied about this? Why? He should know what he is talking about. Sani would have arrived at a rough idea of what his reward should be like for providing such information.  His calculation would have been informed by the Federal Government’s publicised range of reward for such whistleblowing.

    This is how the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, presented  the whistleblowing aspect of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s anti-corruption strategy for the recovery of stolen public funds: “The whistleblowing policy is a very simple policy through which we encourage Nigerians who have any information about the violation of our rights, commission of a crime, fraud or corruption or any Nigerian who knows where certain money is being held or kept to anonymously contact us. We will protect his or her identity and if the information leads to the recovery of money, he or she will be entitled to 2.5 per cent or 5 per cent of the money recovered.”

    Predictably, Sani must have had huge dreams of a huge monetary entitlement, considering that the information he supplied had to do with alleged boxes of money in local and foreign currencies.

    It is intriguing that there is no defining portrait of Sani. For instance, who is he and what is he? How did he get involved in moving the said money? Was he paid for his role?   If he was, who paid him? How much was he paid? If he wasn’t paid for his role, why wasn’t he paid? Should he have been paid?

    Why did Sani blow the whistle?  This question suggests the possibility that he had a real reason for whistleblowing, meaning a fact-based reason for whistleblowing.  The so-called whistleblowing policy, unprecedented in Nigeria’s political history, presents two choices: To blow or not to blow. It may not be as easy as it sounds.  Where the whistleblower blows the whistle, it reflects a decision that whistleblowing is what to do in the prevailing circumstances, whether in obedience to moral influences or in obedience to less noble influences. Where there is a deliberate decision not to blow the whistle, it may well be that there is no burden of responsibility, and there is no desperation to make easy money.

    Whatever might have been Sani’s spur, what he is going through because of it raises questions about the workings of the whistleblowing policy. In the first place, is there convincing evidence that the information he supplied was contrived? Not finding the said money at the said house doesn’t necessarily mean the money was never there. Also, it doesn’t necessarily mean the money was there at some point but is no longer there.  What it means is that a thorough investigation is necessary to establish whether such money was ever there.

    This particular whistleblowing case is particularly fascinating because it also involves former Vice President Namadi Sambo.  About two weeks before the whistleblower was arraigned, Sambo had issued a statement through his spokesman, which said of the June 28 raid:  ”This raid brings to four the number of times the residence was searched within a period of six months… At the end of the whole exercise, the officers, who carried out the search were satisfied that nothing incriminating was found.”

    It is thought-provoking that the statement described the search as “a fault-finding mission,” adding, “We are apprehensive that a repeat of such episode will not be surprising if an incriminating object is planted in his residence in order to willfully and deliberately incriminate him.”  The suggestion that Sambo may be the target of a frame-up is food for thought.

    About two weeks after Sambo’s statement was publicised, Sani appeared in court, charged with misleading the ICPC by supplying misleading information to the anti-graft agency.  Now that Sani has been exposed as the source of the information that necessitated the search of Sambo’s house, will it make Sambo less fearful of a possible plot against him by the security agencies?

    Considering Sani’s experience, those who want to be whistleblowers at this time need to be sure that the information they provide to anti-corruption agencies is correct and up to date. In other words, they need to provide current information about what they want to expose. So, whistleblowers, beware!

  • Ikpeazu to reward whistleblowers

    The governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu saidthat the state government would be rewarding whistleblowers who have assisted the State Government and security agencies in the state to expose the whereabouts of kidnappers and criminals in the state.

    Recall that the state government had in April this year promised N1m bounty for any whistleblower that exposes kidnappers in their community and neighbourhood and N1m for any security agent who was able to arrest or smash any kidnapping or armed robbery gang in the state.

  • Churches warn S/Africa against becoming a ‘mafia state’

    Churches warn S/Africa against becoming a ‘mafia state’

    The South African Council of Churches (SACC)on Friday warned that corruption was turning South Africa into a “mafia state” under a government that intimidates whistleblowers, local media reported.

    SACC Secretary-General Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana was quoted as saying President Jacob Zuma’s government had “lost the moral radar”.

    The criticism puts more pressure on Zuma, who in past weeks has faced calls to resign from within his own ruling African National Congress (ANC) party and the opposition amid a slew of scandals that prompted street protests and credit-rating downgrades.

    “We have come to recognize that South Africa may just be a few inches from the throes of a mafia state from which there may be no return, a recipe for a failed state,” Mpumlwana was quoted as saying.

    Zuma has consistently denied allegations of corruption leveled against him and his government, and branded protesters calling for his resignation “racist”.

    South Africa is a religious nation and the churches, which played key roles in the struggle against apartheid, have considerable influence.

    Among the scandals that have rocked Zuma’s presidency are allegations of influence-peddling by wealthy friends of the president and the misuse of public funds to renovate his private home.

    A court has also ordered him to give reasons for firing his widely-respected finance minister in April.

    Releasing the findings of its investigation into graft, the SACC, an inter-denomination grouping that includes the Anglican Church and Dutch Reformed Church, said the ANC had ignored corruption complaints.

    Mpumlwana said whistleblowers were terrified of their own government.

    Zuma’s presidency has been beset by allegations of high-level corruption.

    The nation’s anti-graft watchdog, in a report released in November, called for a judge to investigate allegations of influence peddling in Zuma’s government.

    Zuma and the wealthy Gupta family, which is alleged to wield undue influence over the president, have denied wrongdoing.

    “We have come to learn that what appears to be chaos and instability in government may well be a systematic design of the madness that ills our governmental environment, a chaotic design,” Mpumlwana added.

    Even so, Mpumlwana said the SACC would share its findings with the ANC rather than the police or judiciary.

  • N2m cash reward for whistleblowers in Abia

    N2m cash reward for whistleblowers in Abia

    Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has promised a N1 million reward for volunteers of information on criminals.
    Any security agent, who is able to foil a criminal gang will also get N1 million.
    A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Enyinnaya Appolos, said the move was to curb insecurity and criminal brigandage in the state.
    The governor, who identified cross border criminals and local gangs as being responsible for the new wave of robbery and kidnapping in the city, vowed that “criminal elements will be chased out of Aba and Abia State and those arrested would face the consequences of their actions.”
    Ikpeazu, who recalled that the last Yuletide was the most peaceful, promised to work with security agents and the Federal Government to relaunch “Operation Jubilee”.
    According to him, additional mobile policemen and soldiers would be involved in the operation to arrest and punish criminals; the state would but additional 10 vehicles and body armor equipment to enhance the efficiency of security agents.
    He praised security agents for “making Easter Sunday and Monday black days for some of the men of the underworld at Aba who met their waterloo” and stated that some of the criminals captured alive were already giving useful information that will help security agents to arrest their fleeing colleagues.