As reactions continue to trail the state pardon granted former Bayelsa State governor Dipreye Alamieyeseigha and former managing director of Bank of the North, Alhaji Shettima Bulama, there are emerging indications that the controversial pardon granted Alamieyeseigha by President Goodluck Jonathan was to pave the way for the former governor to contest the 2015 Senate elections in Bayelsa State; and the President was said to have been privy to Alamieyeseigha’s political ambitions before granting the pardon.
Campaign posters indicating that Alamieyeseigha will contest the 2015 Senate elections appeared in the Bayelsa Central Senatorial zone Monday; confirming that the embattled former governor will run on the platform of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); with emphasis that he is “tested and trusted,” and that he is “pardoned for service.”
It was not clear who put out the posters, but a source close to the former governor told Huhuonline.com that the “Alamieyeseigha for Senate” who are behind the move have the blessing of Aso Rock.
“The President was privy to Alamieyeseigha’s plan to contest for Senate in the forthcoming election,” noted the source, adding: “this was the primary reason he was granted state pardon. You know with the pardon, he is qualified to contest for any position in the country.” The source, a journalist and member of the former governor’s campaign team explained that the plans had been sealed as compensation for Alamieyeseigha’s efforts in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
Special Assistant to President Jonathan on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, had in his defence of the pardon granted Alamieyeseigha and others, declared that the former governor was free to do anything including contesting for any position.
There had been serious condemnation of the action of the President with even the United States of America threatening to review some of its ties with the country. The scheduled visit of Bill Gates to the country later this month has been cancelled according to information made available to Huhuonline.com.
The US Embassy in Nigeria had first expressed that country’s displeasure with the pardon in a tweet on Friday, which may be setting both countries on the path of diplomatic face-off as Nigeria, through the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, summoned the US Deputy Chief of Mission over the issue.
State Department spokesperson, Ms. Victoria Nuland, who stated US position while fielding questions from reporters during a press briefing in Washington DC at the weekend, said her government was “deeply disappointed over the recent pardons of corrupt officials by the Nigerian Government,” stressing that the US sees “this as a setback for the fight against corruption, and also for our ability to play the strong role we’ve played in supporting rule of law and legal institution-building in Nigeria, which is very important for the future of the country obviously.”
When asked whether US had expressed its displeasure to the Nigerian government on the issue, she simply said, “we have,” without disclosing whether her country’s position was made known to the Nigerian embassy in Washington, the ministry of Foreign Affairs or directly to the presidency.
She had declared that with the pardon, the US had made it clear to Nigerians that it puts a question mark on the kinds of work that the foreign country been trying to do with Nigeria. This means that the US may begin to cut its aid to the country.
Angered by what it considered a mockery of the nation’s anti-corruption campaign, the Christian Welfare Initiative (CWI), an arm of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), wondered why such a pardon should be granted someone who was convicted by a London court for corruption and financial embezzlement.
In a statement in Lagos, the National President of CWI, Archbishop Magnus Adeyemi Atilade, described the whole act as being based on tribalism, nepotism and lack of fear of God, and a negation of Jonathan’s perceived war against corruption.
According to CWI, Jonathan is indirectly endorsing corruption by this singular pardon of an ex-convict. The Christian body said if Alamieyeseigha deserved a pardon, all the gates of the nation’s prison yards should as well be flung open for the inmates, both convicted and awaiting trial for presidential pardon because their offences were not as heavy as those of Alamieyeseigha who embezzled his state’s money. CWI recalled that Jonathan was Alamieyeseigha’s deputy when the former governor committed the offence for which he was convicted.
“It is therefore a height of nepotism and tribalism for the same Jonathan to turn round and grant pardon to his former boss. And this is not acceptable to Nigerians; he should rescind the pardon immediately because he is laying a gangrenous precedent for other future leaders. Whether Jonathan knows the implication of what he did or not, it should be pointed out to him that the said pardon is a big dent on his government, and the honorable thing to do is to rescind the pardon for Alamieyeseigha now”, the CWI added.
The Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) (a non-governmental, non-partisan organisation and the main social-development arm of the Catholic Church) also condemned the pardon.
