N13billion recovery: Whistleblower ‘ll be paid this month – Finance Minister

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has said that the whistleblower who provided information that led to the recovery of N13 billion cash by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) in Ikoyi, Lagos private home will be paid this month.

Adeosun, who explained that the delay was due to the need to follow due process, stated that the whistleblower’s payment is among those being processed for payment in November batch.

The minister spoke in a statement made available in Abuja on Sunday by her Media Assistant, Mr Oluyinka Akintunde.
Adeosun also stated that the Federal Government has not withheld any fund due to any whistleblower, saying that the ministry has detailed procedures for processing payments due under the Whistleblower Policy.

According to her, the procedures are designed to prevent abuse and legal disputes and to ensure protection of the information providers.

The minister said: “These procedures include an application by the agency who recovered the funds including evidence of the recovery, confirmation that there are no pending legal issues on the recovery, verification of the identity of the information provider, calculation of the amount payable and computation of relevant taxes.

“It must be stated also that payments are made in monthly batches to ensure control and to protect the identity of information providers. To date, over 20 of such persons have been paid. From available records, the payment due on Ikoyi is among those being processed in the November batch, which will be released within the current month.”

The Minister reiterated that the Whistleblowing Policy of the Federal Government remains one of the current Administration’s successful initiatives and that the Government is fully committed to ensuring that all those who responded to the policy and partnered with Government in the recovery effort are paid in full and most importantly have their identity protected.

The Whistleblower Policy was introduced in December 2016 by the Federal Government as part of the initiatives to wage war against corruption.

Mathew Dadiya, Abuja