From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has described the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) as the best suited agency to domicile the whistle-blowing policy of the federal government.
He has, therefore, assured the commission that he would consider their request.
According to a statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, Buhari gave the assurance while responding to requests by the Chief Commissioner of the Commission, Abimbola Ayo-Yusuf and members of the Management team during a courtesy visit.
He also thanked the commission for conferring him the award of the Grand Ombudsman of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, pledging to continue to do his best in expanding the frontiers of anti-corruption, rule of law and good governance in Nigeria.
The president also promised speedy consideration of the commission’s application to own a radio station to facilitate dissemination of its activities to the citizenry and to enhance its public enlightenment programmes.
On the 2023 elections and the need to protect the will of Nigerians, President Buhari urged the Commission to use their privileged position and network of numerous offices in all the states of the federation and presence in many local government areas to protect the interest of the down trodden and sensitize the citizenry on their rights and obligations.
He underscored the role of the commission in ensuring free, fair and credible elections and a smooth democratic transition and transfer of power in 2023.
‘‘The Public Complaints Commission is an Ombudsman Institution set up in 1975. The reason for its establishment by its founding fathers was to bridge the gap between the government and the governed and between the big man and the little man.
‘‘It was designed to act as a bastion of justice for the ‘little man’ who has no one or place to turn to for relief, just as it was conceived by the Swedes who originated it.
‘‘The mandate of the Commission is to principally attend to complaints by members of the public concerning the administrative action of any authority and companies or their officials.
‘‘This fits into this administration’s policies of restoring transparency, accountability and zero tolerance for corruption and all forms of administrative injustice.
‘‘I, therefore, promise to assist the commission to provide the needed tools and infrastructure to strengthen and empower it to perform effectively’’.
On the honorary award presented to the president, Ayo-Yusuf praised President Buhari for releasing all outstanding pension liabilities, from 2014, to retirees of the federal government, especially those of the treasury-funded Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs), under the contributory pension scheme.
He added that the president also approved the payment of backlog of death benefits due to beneficiaries of deceased employees of MDAs.