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| Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed |
In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday, the minister said the Federal Government would protect the identity of all whistleblowers, whether in the public or the private sector and also ensure that the information they provide is kept secret.
โFor those who may have suffered any backlash as a result of the information they provide, their cases will be reviewed and appropriate mitigating actions taken,โ he said.
Mohammed said the assurance followed the presentations made to the Presidential Assets Recovery Committee by concerned citizens and groups about the safety of whistleblowers.
โWhistleblowers have nothing to fear, because the committee has put in place the necessary measures to safeguard those who give useful information. As a matter of fact, whistleblowers have everything to gain and nothing to lose,โ he said.
The minister said any whistleblower, whose information leads to the recovery of up to N1 billion would receive five per cent of the amount, adding that the reward for any amount between N1 billion and N5 billion will be five per cent for the first N1 billion and four per cent of the remaining N4 billion.
He added that any amount over N5 billion would attract 2.5 per cent reward.
โWhat we have done by making this information public is to reassure potential whistleblowers that the plan to reward is real. We are not just saying we will pay all whistleblowers, but we are letting them know in advance what they are entitled to, once the information they provide leads to the recovery of looted funds,โ he said.
