FG confirms recovering over N144bn through Whistle-blower policy

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The federal government said it recovered more than N143.89 billion from corrupt officials through the implementation of the Whistle Blower policy.

The Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA) disclosed this in a report made available to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday.

The report showed that government had successfully recovered N7.8 billion, $378 million and 27,800 pounds sterling.

According to the report, since the policy was introduced in 2016 to fight financial crimes and corruption, PICA has received 8,373 tips.

The report said 1,231 tips received were on financial crimes.

It further showed that the federal government was able to investigate 791 cases out of which 534 were completed.

It also showed that the federal government had also been able to save N208 billion through the payroll audit of its Ministries Department and Agencies (MDAs).

According to the report, N97.94 billion was saved in 2016, while N110.46 billion was saved in 2017.

It said the saving was from the recovery of salaries paid to ex-diplomats, reduction in personnel costs of MDAs and reduction in non-regular allowances of the armed forces, para-military agencies and health institutions.