The Federal Government has launched a nationwide sensitization campaign to boost the effectiveness of Nigeria’s Whistleblowing Policy, underscoring its commitment to fighting corruption and promoting transparency in public finance.
The two-day programme, held September 17–18 in Lagos, was organized by the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA) and brought together senior government officials, anti-graft agencies, and private sector leaders.
The event served as a platform to educate stakeholders on reporting misconduct and protecting whistleblowers, while addressing systemic challenges such as low public awareness and cultural resistance.
Declaring the campaign open, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Wale Edun, represented by Raymond Omenka Omachi, Permanent Secretary for Special Duties, said whistleblowing remains a powerful tool for exposing financial crimes and mismanagement.
Director of Information and Public Relations, Mohammed Manga in a statement quoted the minister to have indicated that,
“The policy encourages the reporting of suspicious activities or wrongdoing in both public and private sectors,” Edun noted, reaffirming government’s commitment to shielding whistleblowers from retaliation.
Edun explained that Lagos was selected to launch the campaign due to its role as Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre with a robust financial ecosystem, urging stakeholders to actively drive compliance.
In a keynote address, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by Abdul-kabir Opeyemi Ogunbo, his Special Adviser on Taxation, called for an urgent review of the Whistleblowers Protection Bill to institutionalize the policy and rebuild public trust.
Sanwo-Olu assured residents that confidentiality safeguards are in place, emphasizing that whistleblowing strengthens accountability and protects the integrity of financial systems.
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police and the Auditor-General of the Federation also lauded the initiative, calling for greater public participation as a frontline measure against graft.
Sessions featured interactive discussions, expert lectures, and contributions from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on how to make whistleblowing more effective.
Lydia Shehu Jafiya, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance—represented by Oludare John, Deputy Director at PICA—said whistleblowing has already delivered “enormous economic gains,” and called for deeper collaboration among agencies to sustain its momentum.
The sensitization programme marks the first step in a wider effort to entrench transparency under the Renewed Hope Agenda, which aims to strengthen accountability across Nigeria’s public and private sectors.
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