Nigerian Presidency has finally cleared the air waves of too much speculations surrounding the pardoning of the two former Governors, Joshua Dariye, and his counterpart, Jolly Nyame, after being sentenced to jail for charges that centred mainly on misappropriation of public funds.
Speaking its reasons, the Presidency assured Nigerians that the granting of pardon to the two ex-Governors, including 157 others by the Council of State will, however, not derail the ongoing anti-corruption fight of the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration and the APC Government at large.
Yesterday, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, gave the assurance in a statement that was issued in Abuja.
Quoting his Boss, he said that President Buhari guaranteed the nation that ”nothing done here was intended to achieve a political end or send a revisionist message on the relentless war against corruption which he has ably and evidently led by personal examples.”
Citing some portions of the country’s Constitution, he said Section 175 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 enjoins the President to exercise his constitutional powers “to grant any person concerned with or convicted of any offence created by an Act of the National Assembly a pardon, either free or subject to lawful conditions;
“To grant respite, either for an indefinite or a specified period of the execution of any punishment imposed on that person for such an offence.” Shehu had cited.