National Council Of State Grants Former Governors Dariye, Nyame State Pardon

BY CHAMBERLAIN ODEY, JOS – There are strong indications that the National Council of State meeting which took place at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja on Thursday, April 14, 2022 granted state pardon to former Governors Joshua Dariye of Plateau State, and Jolly Nyame of Taraba State.

The two former governors who were serving their prison terms at the Kuje Correctional Centre in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were jailed for corruption-related offences.

This was as excitement and mixed feelings in different social and political circles in Plateau enveloped Jos and other parts of Plateau state as news of Dariye leaving the prison filtered into town.

A family source confirmed to Forefront News that the former Plateau Governor, Senator Joshua Dariye, has regained freedom from prison following a state pardon granted him by the National Council of State meeting on Thursday.

Although the news broke and filtered in through different sources, the steady and speedy manner the news reached different groups soon created a frenzy with fears being expressed by some political analysts that Dariye’s release would altered the calculations and permutations towards the 2023 general elections in Plateau State.

A gubernatorial aspirant on the platform of the PDP, Barrister Caleb Mutfwang in his reaction simply said; “it’s good. I’m happy for him. I’m excited about this. At last, he has gotten it. I believe the experience during the period the incarceration lasted will make him a great statesman”.

Another political analyst who prefers anonymity said; “This is a good development for Plateau State as a whole. He is coming to feel a vacuum, and this means a lot for the actualization of the Plateau Project”.

It was however mixed feelings at the State Secretariat of the APC where some of the officials of the State Working Committee (SWC) see the development beyond the excitement of others and the implications it has for the Dariye family, as they feel more that Dariye’s presence in the State will acutely grate on the prospects of the party in the 2023 elections.

At the PDP State Secretariat, the news threw the busy environment into ecstasy, as the shout of “Head Boy” echoed in the air as it was dragged on for as much as their energy could allow them.

At the Government House, Little Rayfield, Jos, Governor Simon Lalong was absent even as some Government House staff who whispered around said the governor has been in bad publicity already especially for abandoning the people of Kanam since the massacre of about 300 persons according to a PDP press release.

Another source at the Government House, Jos noted that Lalong will not be happy with the development because of its uncomplementary implications for his fumbling government and political calculations which are already collapsing in some cases.

Similarly, a source in Bokkos Local Government Area, which is Dariye’s homestead, said on telephone that as at press time, motorcycles operators and motorists were driving and singing and chanting victory and freedom songs around the town, although he could not confirm the mood of residents of Horop, Dariye’s village, saying the news was still spreading.

Dariye was jailed on June 12, 2018 by an Abuja High Court having been found guilty of charges of corruption and money laundering brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).