Ningi, Senate and Nigeria’s whistleblower policy

The events that have unfolded since the suspension of the Senator representing Bauchi Central, Abdul Ningi, for daring to accuse the Senate of padding the 2024 budget have seemingly laid bare the stifling of dissent and whistleblowing within Nigeria’s political arena.

During a plenary session at the Senate last month, amidst a heated debate on budget padding accusations by Senator Ningi which eventually earned the Bauchi Central Senator a three-month suspension, the Senator representing Cross River North, Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, further revealed that a staggering N500 million had been funnelled to certain senators from the 2024 budget.

However, during a recent interview on Arise TV, Senator Jarigbe found himself in a tight spot when the budget padding controversy was brought up in the discussion. The senator, apparently seeking to avoid “wahala”, chose to abandon the interview midway. This decision came amidst a tense atmosphere following his admission that he had not scrutinized the budget line by line, which led to a curious exchange with the anchor, Mrs. Adesuwa Giwa-Osagie.

The situation escalated when Giwa-Osagie expressed astonishment at Jarigbe’s lack of familiarity with the budget details.

“I do find it fascinating that a senator would say the budget wasn’t scrutinized by himself line by line when I myself have scrutinized the budget line by line,” she said.

With the comment seemingly rubbing him off the wrong way, Senator Jarigbe challenged Giwa-Osagie to tell him the details of the budgetary provisions for her senatorial district, to which the anchor replied that she did not have the ‘arithmetic’ but only scrutinised the budget on ministry by ministry basis. She further emphasized that it was Jarigbe’s responsibility to scrutinize the budget, being an elected member of the Senate, not hers.

Feeling cornered and possibly embarrassed, Senator Jarigbe attempted to redirect the discussion to avoid further interrogation.

“I want to talk about my thanksgiving and representation to my people, you people are doing budget, budget, I will walk away oh. You people want me to say something that I will go and face wahala, you should allow me oh, let me serve my people quietly,” he said.

Immediately after this awkward exchange, the connection was lost, and the interview concluded abruptly, leaving viewers with speculations about political accountability and recalling the Senate’s recent suspension of Senator Ningi over budget-related remarks.

Indeed, Ningi’s suspension and Jarigbe’s conscious effort to not “say something that I will go and face wahala” highlight a troubling trend of silencing those who dare to speak out.

The Federal Government of Nigeria formally introduced the whistleblowing policy on December 21, 2016, facilitated through the Federal Ministry of Finance. It was intended to be a strategic anti-corruption programme that encouraged individuals to voluntarily disclose information about various forms of corruption, including fraud, bribery, looted government funds, financial misconduct, and theft of government assets.

Whistleblowers were incentivized with a reward of 2.5 per cent to 5 per cent from the recovered funds, which proved to be a significant motivator for public participation. Some examples of major recoveries which have emphasized the effectiveness of the policy include one incident at Ikoyi in the year 2017, where Mr. Yakubu Galadima aided in the recovery of substantial amounts of foreign currencies hidden in Lagos.

However, despite the Nigerian Whistleblowing Stopgap Policy of 2016 and the Whistleblower Protection Bill of 2019, whistleblowing does not seem to have gained much traction, with the seeming absence of a democratic safeguard that will provide a channel for individuals to expose misconduct, corruption, or violations of the law within organizations and government entities. The question then is: how do we uphold transparency and accountability, particularly in the public sector where the stakes are high for society at large?

As can be seen, whistleblowing in Nigeria is riddled with numerous challenges that undermine its level of effectiveness as well as individual safety and oftentimes, credibility. The case of Ningi is emblematic of a broader pattern where individuals who expose corruption are met with severe reprisals as opposed to encouragement.

Speaking on the import of the Ningi case, a financial expert and consultant, Mr Osarumwense Theophilus Omorodion, told The Nigerian Observer in Benin City, the Edo State capital, that the way and manner of Senator Ningi’s suspension has dealt a big blow to the whistleblowing policy as it would discourage people from coming out to speak out whenever they discover irregularities.

Omorodion stated that from the way things are going in the country, the whistleblower might become the hunted instead of being protected for coming out to give information to the appropriate authority. Citing the instance of the former Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, who was seen in a video allegedly collecting dollars from a contractor, Omorodion said the person who blew that whistle was later arrested by security agencies and charged to court, while Ganduje, the accused, was yet to give account of that video incident.

He said the fracas that took place in the Senate over budget padding allegation made by Ningi was an eye opener to Nigerians “as to how the national budget is been laid out based on individual interest”.

“However the greatest bewilderment that came to Nigerians was the suspension drama that ensued following his revelations of budget padding and whistleblowing, making it look like he has committed a severe crime.

He said the manner in which the case of Senator Ningi has been handled by the National Assembly would definitely discourage people from coming out to say whatever they know that can help sanitize the system in the form of whistleblowing because, according to him, they would think, “If a sitting senator can be suspended and treated in the manner he’s been treated now, who then is the ordinary Nigerian to say or reveal anything some persons might see as a threat to their political relevance and survival?”

He described Nigeria as “a nation where the offenders can persecute the innocent ones as though they are the offenders”.

Apart from the issues raised by Omorodion above, there’s an argument to be made that a strong deference to authority, deeply entrenched into the country’s social norms, might make it culturally taboo to challenge people in a position of power. Furthermore, the lack of comprehensive whistleblower protection legislation exacerbates the issue, leaving potential whistleblowers vulnerable to retaliation and discouraging them from coming forward.

To gain back the trust of whistleblowers, political analysts say the Federal Government must be sincere in its anti-corruption drive so as to boost the confidence of the whistleblower. Also, the security agencies must refrain from selective justice and prosecution whereby some people are untouchable. They must also refrain from releasing identities of whistleblowers so as to guarantee their safety and give them the assurance that they are protected whenever they give out verifiable information. If it requires giving the whistleblower a security cover or special protection due to the nature of the information he or she has to let out, then the government and the security agencies should do it to boost the morale of Nigerians to come out to say something whenever they see something.