On his return to Taraba after receiving a state pardon, Jolly Nyame, the former governor of Taraba, was received by a large audience over the weekend.
President Muhammadu Buhari presided over a council of state meeting in April where 159 prisoners, including Nyame and Joshua Dariye, the former governor of Plateau, were pardoned.
Due to their advanced age and poor health, the two former governors who had been imprisoned for fraud were released.
Nyame was found guilty in 2018 and given a 14-year prison term for misusing N1.64 billion in public monies.
However, his sentence was later reduced to 12 years in 2020 as a result of a supreme court decision that upheld the court of appeals’ decision in this case.
Many Nigerians criticized the council of state’s decision, calling it a defeat in the fight against corruption, but the president stood by it.
In August, Nyame was released from the correctional facility in the Kuje council area, federal capital territory (FCT).
The former Taraba governor was received at the Danbaba Danfulani Suntai airport in Jalingo, the Taraba capital, amid cheers from a crowd lined up along the road to welcome him
There was also a welcome reception which took place at the Jolly Nyame stadium in Jalingo.
It was later heard that senator Bwacha gave the Ex-governor a white Mercedes Jeep shortly after his release. The development led to a lot of speculation that the gesture was intended to persuade him to support the APC in the Taraba state elections of 2023.
However, Senator Bwacha recently refuted the assertion that his gift of a car to Nyame was not politically motivated at a media appearance in Jalingo.
Bwacha clarified that his action toward the former governor was merely a polite welcome, unrelated to politics, to a man he referred to as the father of all Tarabans.
Nevertheless, speaking at the event, the former governor expressed his appreciation to Buhari and the council of state for granting him the pardon.
“I hold no grudges against anybody. I have forgiven all those that were behind my incineration. All I know is that God used them for a purpose. I’m better off now than before,” he added.
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