Jonathan’s 2015 Plan Behind Ex-gov’s Pardon

Facts emerged on Wednesday that permutations ahead of 2015 were responsible for the presidential pardon granted a former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, along with four others.

Investigations showed that President Goodluck Jonathan  had recently come under pressure by ex-militants, who have increasingly become critical of his style of leadership.
It was learnt that  Jonathan was concerned that any restiveness in Niger Delta could rob him of the much- needed home support ahead of  the 2015  presidential poll.
 A competent source in the Presidency  told The CA  that the President was banking on the intervention of Alamieyeseigha, in reaching out to the ex-militants, who believed that he (Jonathan) had not sufficiently addressed the problems in the Niger Delta.
Our source added that Jonathan  was equally aware of Alamieyeseigha’s  desire to return to the political arena   with a possible shot  at the Senate  in  2015.

Close associates of  the President  were said to have drawn  his attention to the fact that he could use his presidential powers to pardon  the former governor  thus solving  twin problems –  his  2015 challenge and the “political debts” he owed  the former governor.
His attention was also called  to the fact that this would not be the first time such powers came in handy  in  dealing  with potentially challenging situations.
Apart from Chief Obafemi Awolowo,  who was pardoned by the Gen. Yakubu Gowon regime, the administration of Shehu Shagari pardoned Gowon and Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu,  who returned and immediately joined politics.
As recent as 1999, the Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar regime pardoned Chief Olusegun Obasanjo,  who was convicted and given a long prison sentence by the Sani  Abacha junta for treason.
The pardon  paved the way for Obasanjo to contest and win the 1999 presidential election.
A source, who  confided in one of our correspondents, said, “Everything  is political. Alamieyeseigha  has a senatorial ambition;  the ex-militants are angry with the President. The President wants the man to intervene and speak with the ex-militants as 2015 approaches.”
However, a Special Assistant (Media) to the President,  Mr. Bolaji Adebiyi,  told one of our correspondents, “The idea of a presidential pardon was not novel; it is not happening for the first time; it is not perculiar to Nigeria and there is a process.
“People apply for pardon; they apply to the President who considers it and he follows the process.
“He takes it further to the National Council of State which in this case has given its advice, which will be gazzetted.
“It is not new;  so opposition political parties should not seek to politicise the normal process of government.
“If the opposition politicians are in doubt, their attention is called to the fact that one of those  in council was Gen. Gowon, who himself was pardoned by Shehu Shagari.
“There was also Gen.  Obasanjo,  who had to be granted pardon  before he could contest election  in 1999.
“Even Obasanjo himself had to pardon a former Speaker, Alhaji Salishu Buhari,  who was convicted of forgery .”
Meanwhile, a  former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has  said the pardon granted Alamieyeseigha and ex-Managing Director of Bank of the North, Alhaji Mohammed Bulama, is capable of stopping the war against corruption.
Ribadu, in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents in Abuja, said the pardon  was very discouraging.
He  said, “I believe that corruption still remains the biggest problem confronting Nigeria. We should not do anything that will take us back. The action by government is capable of stopping the entire war against corruption.”