Nigeria has recovered over N200 billion from its whistleblowing policy in less than 2 years

Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Nigeria's vice president, reeled out the figures at the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Week, held at the NAF Conference Centre, Abuja, on Monday, May 7, 2018.

Osinbajo said President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government is committed to ensuring openness and transparency in the affairs of the nation.

He said: “One of the remarkable things about the Open Government Partnership is that it was designed to function as a partnership between the governments and the private sector. Without this coalition-building, I doubt that much progress would be achievable. Regardless of whether the goal is improving infrastructure or fighting corruption, it is clear, as it has always been, that governments cannot do it alone.”

“The skills, experience, resources, and technology that the private sector brings to the table, are often invaluable and in many instances represent the difference between success and failure. We ought to equally acknowledge that there is a limit to what civil society by itself can accomplish by itself, without building bridges with the public sector that is very often the target of its work. What our experience with OGP in Nigeria has proven, is that it is possible to build a coalition of like-minded reformers drawn from government and non-state actors.

“In addition to joining the OGP, and developing a National Action Plan in 2016, the Federal Government also established a Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA), housed in the Federal Ministry of Finance, and oversees the Programme we launched in December 2016. That programme had seen recoveries of N7.8 billion, $378 million and 27,800 pounds sterling, as at March 2018.”

The vice president further explained that the presidential initiative cleaned up the federal payroll and pensions systems, across all ministries, departments and agencies and saved more than N200 billion by eliminating ghost workers.

Open Government Partnership - OGP

Nigeria joined the OGP at the London Anti-Corruption Summit in May 2016 and became the 70th member country.

The Open Government Partnership (OGP), is an international multi-stakeholder initiative, focused on improving transparency, accountability, citizen participation and responsiveness to citizens through technology and innovation.

Nigeria has recovered over N200 billion from its whistleblowing policy in less than 2 years

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