The Congress said if the anti corruption battle must be won, the Presidency must lead by its actions, stressing that it wonders what message the National Council of state is sending to Nigerians if at the height of unprecedented corruption in the country those who have been prosecuted and jailed for stealing public money are granted state pardon.
In a statement signed by NLC national president, Abdulwahed Omar, the union body said it is alarmed by the decision of the National Council of States to pardon Mr.Diepreye Alamieyeseigha“who was impeached as Governor of Bayelsa State and eventually convicted by a properly constituted court for stealing public funds; and Mr. Shetima Bulama a former Managing Director of the Bank of the North who was also convicted for misappropriating the bank’s funds.”
The statement said further, “While we appreciate that the Council of States does have a constitutional responsibility to pardon citizens who have obviously been convicted or punished in the past for offences, it is totally unacceptable that those who committed economic crimes in such magnitude that affected public interest be granted state pardon.
“It is our view that state pardon remains an act of mercy or reprieve dispassionately exercised or granted by the highest authority in the land for and on behalf of the government and people, and it should be a last act of mercy sparingly exercised for the good of the nation.
“State pardon is recognized across the world not for its own sake but for its potential and capacity for redressing judicial guilt, rewarding penitence, or for initiating reconciliation, and in some instances, for ensuring restoration, but never losing sight of national interest” he said.
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