AFRICMIL wants Fashola to order immediate reinstatement of whistle blower sacked by FCMB

A Civil Society Organisation, African Centre for Media and Information Literacy, AFRICMIL, has called on Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, to order the immediate and unconditional reinstatement of Mr. Murtala Ibrahim, a whistleblower who was recently sacked by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, FMBN.

AFRICMIL, is a Non Governmental Organization working on building support for the whistlebower policy of the Federal Government.

In a statement signed by AFRICMIL coordinator, Chido Onumah, and made available to journalists yesterday, the organisation condemned FCMB for the unjustly dis-engagement of Ibrahim, who blew the whistle on a contract scam and the bank’s manufactured 2016 Half-Year Validation Report on May 8,2017.

According to AFRICMIL, the cruel treatment of Ibrahim by FMBN has again brought to the fore the recurring victimisation of officers who report wrongdoings in government offices. “The persistent victimisation in any form of those who are courageous enough to blow the whistle must not be tolerated if the whistleblower policy of this administration must succeed.

“We have said it repeatedly that whistleblowers deserve nothing more than full protection as this will further encourage accountability and enrich the right of the public to know” he stated.

The group drew the attention of the Minister to the Finance and Accounts Group of the bank where it reported a surplus of income over expenditure to the tune of N423, 653, 187, but on investigation by the Internal Audit Group where Mr. Ibrahim served as the deputy head, it was discovered that the report was doctored.

The organization noted that the FMBN, which has never declared profit since its establishment, manufactured the report to deceive the Minister of Power, Works and Housing whose Ministry supervises the bank, into believing that the bank was performing well.

It urged Mr. Fashola not to be misled by a report whose sole aim was to cover up the massive fraud and bad management which the bank had experienced over the years.

The statement referred the minister to a Central Bank of Nigeria report which vindicated the audit group that there was indeed no profit contrary to the report of the stated period submitted by the bank’s management.

“We request Mr. Fashola to look critically at that CBN report and he would discover that not only was he shamelessly taken for a ride, the management of FMBN also went on to unlawfully sack an officer who was only carrying out his duties in an honest and professional manner,” Onumah said.