By Godwin Onyeacholem

The whistleblowing and whistleblower protection legislation would be passed before the end of the tenure of the President Muhammadu administration, according to Dr Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning.

Dr. Ahmed gave this assurance in her welcome address at the zonal conference on the whistleblowing policy in Nigeria for north-central zone which was held Oct. 25-26 at the Aliyu Akwe Doma banquet hall in Lafia, Nasarawa State.

The zonal conference which had earlier held in four zones (north-west, south-west, south-south and north-east) is the brainchild of the ministry of finance, budget and national planning which manages the whistleblowing policy through one of its units, Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA).

The objective of the zonal conference, which brought together participants from Nasarawa, Kogi, Kwara Benue, Plateau states and FCT, is to intensify awareness of the whistleblowing policy and mobilize citizens to adopt it as a tool for fighting corruption and achieving accountability and good governance in the country.

In her remark, the minister noted the role being played by stakeholders, specifically African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) and MacArthur Foundation, to popularize the policy and ensure the passage of the draft whistleblower protection bill into a law.

Nasarawa state governor, Abdullahi Sule, who was represented by Daniel Agyeno, the state commissioner for finance, commended the federal government for hosting the event in Nasarawa State which he said had already keyed into the policy with the aim of addressing corrupt practices in the state.