The Global Peace Development (GPD), a Civil Society Organisation (CSO), has called on the Delta State Government to transmit the whistleblowing policy to the House of Assembly for legislation, to strengthen accountability and protect citizens who expose corruption.
GPD’s Executive Director, Mr. Ebruke Esike, made the appeal in Asaba on Saturday during a one-day training for journalists and social media influencers on the Whistle-Blower Protection Bill 2024. The training, themed “Citizen Engagement and Capacity Strengthening for Reinforced Governance and Social Accountability”, was supported by the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Esike commended Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s administration for showing commitment to transparency through the introduction of a whistleblowing policy and the release of a reporting hotline. However, he stressed that the initiative would remain weak without proper legislation to guarantee protection for whistleblowers.
“Delta has received huge allocations from the federation account this year, enough to transform the state if monitored properly. But many citizens are reluctant to report irregularities because there is no law to protect them from threats or harm,” he said.
Esike explained that the proposed law would safeguard whistleblowers’ identities, introduce a reward system, and impose sanctions on those who provide false information. He added that legislating the bill would complement the Public Finance Management (PFM) Law 2022, which was championed by Oborevwori during his time as Speaker of the State Assembly.
“The whistleblowing law is critical to ensuring accountability and development. It will also reinforce the governor’s efforts under the PFM Law 2022,” he noted.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Delta State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr. Churchill Oyowe, pledged media support for the bill. He said sensitisation strategies would include town hall meetings, religious platforms, storytelling, social media campaigns, and content creation to raise public awareness and counter opposition to the legislation.