President Goodluck Jonathan and Alamieyeseigha
President
Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday said he had no regret over the state
pardon he recently granted his political benefactor, former governor
Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, despite the public outcry that trailed the
exercise.
Special Adviser to the President on
Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, made the President’s position
known while featuring on a Radio Nigeria programme, Business Hour,
monitored by our correspondent in Abuja.
Abati restated the Presidency’s position
that the gesture granted the former governor, who was convicted of
corruption, was in order as the process leading to the pardon conformed
with the provisions of the nation’s constitution.
He said, “The President does not regret
what he has done because it is clearly within the powers of the
President of Nigeria to grant pardon within the purview of Section 175
of the constitution.
“What has been done from the point of
view of law is in order. But people say that they are not talking about
the law, they are talking about morality.
“On that issue, I have said it before
that pardon is given to persons who have been convicted. So when a man
commits an offence, he goes through the legal process and he is
convicted, then he is pardoned later.
“There is nowhere you grant pardon that
it has not generated some level of controversy. The is always some kind
of political drama around. So our own experience has not been
exceptional.”
While featuring on a Channels Television
programme, Sunrise, earlier in the day, Abati also said despite the
criticism trailing the appointment of a former speaker of the House of
Representatives, Salisu Buhari, on the governing board of the
University of Nigeria, Nsukka, the former lawmaker like every other
Nigerian, was fit for the job.
He said although it was true that Buhari
was removed from office for forgery and perjury, the former speaker
apologised to his colleagues on the floor of the House and he had since
been granted pardon by the administration of former President Olusegun
Obasanjo.
He said rather than for Nigerians to be
criticising the President on the matter, Jonathan should be seen as “a
good man” because he did not act arbitrarily.
He said, “The criticism about the
appointment of governing boards for federal universities has centred on
just one person, Buhari, out of about 251 people.
“People are saying that he was convicted
for forgery and perjury under the Obasanjo’s administration. If you
recall after that conviction, he not only apologised on the floor of the
House, the administration at the time subsequently granted him pardon.
“Pardon means you can no longer be
punished for whatever offence you have committed. It means that your
rights have been restored and you can again legitimately act for the
society. The pardon says you can’t be shut out of the society.
“If you have opportunity again to serve your country, of course, you can be asked to be part of the process.”
Abati however said as a listening
government, the administration was ready to rescind its decision on any
of the appointees if genuine protest was received from either the
Academic Staff Union of Universities or from the concerned university.
On government’s position on the removal
of fuel subsidy, Abati said Jonathan had never been specific on the time
full deregulation would take place.
He said it was important for Nigerians to note that there is provision for subsidy in the 2013 budget.
culled from www.punchng.com
No comments:
Post a Comment