Professor Itse Sagay (SAN) has backed President Muhammadu Buhari on the presidential pardon granted to former Governors of Plateau and Taraba, Joshua Dariye and Jolly Nyame respectively.
The Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) said the president was right to have granted the prerogative of mercy to the two former governors.
In a chat with The Punch on Saturday, Sagay slammed those criticising the President for pardoning both former governors, saying that the critics are just being political.
He said the decision was not taken by Buhari alone but by the National Council of State, which comprised all the 36 governors, former Presidents and past and present Chief Justices of Nigeria.
He said: “The President didn’t do it alone but with the Council of State. I am sure it must have been a consensus. It is not such a terrible thing as people are saying. Four years in prison is tough. Some of us may not survive a month in prison.
“They have faced humiliation and loss of status, falling from Government Houses to prison. So, I don’t think there is anything wrong if they are being pardoned.”
Sagay, however, denied claims that the former governors were pardoned because they were members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The senior lawyer said both Nyame and Dariye are not active members of the ruling party and cannot play politics for ten years.
He said, “No, I can disagree with this entirely. These people are not active party men anymore. When they are pardoned, for 10 years they cannot participate in politics. So, they are of no consequential advantage to the President or any party. I don’t think it’s a party matter.”
This article was originally published on Nigeria News