As part of activities to mark the International Anti-corruption Day (IACD) 2017 scheduled for December 9, the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) under its Corruption Anonymous (CORA) project will on Thursday December 7 hold a media dialogue on one year of the whistle blowing policy of the Federal Government.
The whistle blowing policy has been described as one of the most important additions to efforts to rid Nigeria of corruption. The policy was introduced in December 2016. It specifies between 2.5% to 5% of total recovery as reward for citizens whose acts of whistleblowing lead to the recovery of looted public funds. One of the major concerns about the policy has been the security of whistle blowers.
AFRICMIL launched Corruption Anonymous, supported by MacArthur Foundation, to build public confidence and support for the whistle blowing policy and advocate for clear rules and guidelines for the safety of whistle-blowers by mobilising active involvement of the media, citizens and groups.
The media dialogue, planned in conjunction with Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ), has the theme Fight against corruption in Nigeria: One year after the whistle-blower policy. It will bring together journalists and members of the public to provide an independent assessment of the whistleblowing policy, one year after.
According to Chido Onumah, Coordinator of AFRICMIL, “The media dialogue is an avenue for the media as the watchdog of the society to provide an independent assessment of the whistle blowing policy after one year. This will help us, and other stakeholders, identify areas that need to be strengthened for a successful implementation of the policy.”
The media dialogue which will be moderated by Oke Epia, Publisher, OrderPaper.NG will feature a panel of seasoned journalists, including Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operations, The Nation newspapers, Joshua Olufemi, Director of Programmes, PTCIJ, Theophilus Abbah, Managing Editor, Daily Trust newspapers and Catherine Agbo, former Editorial Director, publications, Leadership newspapers.
