…we will not sweep your reports under the carpet, says FIRS
By Doyin Ojosipe
The Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) has assured Nigerians of its readiness to investigate tips submitted by the public and to also observe two important codes of whistleblowing which are protection of the identity and reward of whistleblowers.
Speaking at a radio talk show on Ray Power 100.5 FM Abuja, Friday, Assistant Director of the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU) of the institution, Paul Vianana, reiterated that the act establishing FIRS originally gave it the mandate to receive information on tax fraud while observing the rules of whistleblowing.
“We do not sweep such information under the carpet. We will investigate it, such information will be treated with utmost confidence. FIRS already has something working for us in form of getting information from the public that is in section 37, subsection 1 of our Act, whereby the system rewards citizens or persons that will volunteer useful information that will bring about the recovery of tax revenue that will have otherwise been lost,” he said.
He revealed that FIRS had received between 10-15 tips since the establishment of the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU).
In the same vein, other panelists who spoke at the radio talk show on institutionalising whistleblowing in the country advised the federal government to do a risk assessment of why the whistleblowing policy had suffered setbacks in terms of winning the support of Nigerians and implementation of the policy.
Soji Apampa, Executive Director of Integrity Organisation (IO), said government should encourage citizens to blow the whistle by making deliberate efforts to put in place a system and also work with that system to tackle corruption without any form of disguised favouritism.
He urged the government to work on building its integrity.
Apampa also noted that the approach to tackling corruption by the government had not been holistic, hence the persistence in fraudulent practices.
In his words, “When you have worked to reduce the risks on why people indulge in corrupt practices, then you need to put a system in place to detect where it is not being followed, that is where you will need this kind of policy.”
Apampa added that the fear of retribution and apathy about whether the government will act on the tips were responsible for the lack of interest in whistleblowing.
He urged the government to prioritise provision for a whistleblowing legal framework.
Similarly, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, who is a deputy editor at Daily Trust newspaper, said if citizens were assured of meaningful action from the federal government on the tips they gave, the situation would be different.
He said, “If people knew that their misconduct could be reported, there would be more efficiency and savings. It serves the public interest and helps to build integrity.”
Abdulaziz pointed out that, regrettably, there was a disconnect of the people from the reality that the term ‘public funds’ referred to everybody’s money, noting that this was one of the reasons people had distanced themselves from the anti-graft war.
He stated that it was paramount Nigerians realised that the stolen funds and assets were theirs and should therefore not be deterred from blowing the whistle, notwithstanding the unresponsiveness of the system and mistreatment of reported cases by those in charge.
“Nigerians need to be sensitized that public money is my money, your money, our money and not just government money, if it is stolen, it is our money that has been stolen,” he said.
Another panelist, Sulayman Dawodu, executive secretary of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) committee, noted that the lack of political will on the part of government was a disincentive for Nigerians to blow the whistle.
He said although tips submitted by MDAs suggested the establishment of a whistleblowing mechanism at the agencies but how effective they were was yet to be determined.
Dawodu said having a legal framework and a demonstrable political will by government would contribute to the institutionalisation of the whistleblowing policy in the country.
The radio talk show, which was hosted by the Progressive Impact Organisation for Community Development (PRIMORG), is part of the whistleblowing project known as Corruption Anonymous (CORA) of the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL).
It is supported by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
