The Mayor of Urhoboland and Head of the Association of Urhobo Mayoral Family Crown, AUMFC, His Excellency Eshanekpe Israel popularly known as Akpodoro has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, over the pardon granted Kelvin Oniarah, Frank Azuekor and other notable Nigerians by releasing them from various correctional facilities across the country noting that such gesture speaks volumes of responsive leader who puts his country men and women first.
The Urhobo mayor stated in a chat with our correspondent stressing that to error is human while forgiveness is divine. He commended the President for his “recording breaking forgiveness for those who at a point in their lives too laws into their hands.
Having taken the gauntlet of advocacy for celemency for his Urhobo people who were imprisoned notably among who were the former governor of Delta State, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, Oniarah and Azuekor , in the past ten years, Akpodoro noted that God’s time has come in the lives of those who were granted pardon using the president as the vessel to deliver to them prerogative of mercy.
According to the mayor, the president demonstrated visionary leadership, compassion, and the fear of God in the exercise of his constitutional right to grant pardon to those who showed sufficient reasons to deserve the president’s pardon.
He stated, for instance, Oniarah and Azuekor are youthful urhobo sons who are still ably useful to the nation and can add their quota to national growth and development stressing that their freedom could redeem them from reneging into crimes and ctiminalities assuring that as the Mayor of his people, he would do everything possible for them to be reintegrate into the urhobo society and the nation at large.
He commended the Committee that nominated the two sons of Urhoboland nay, Oniarah and Azuekor maintaining after a painstakingly efforts, adding that having served with remorse over half of their terms in prison, the duo deserved Presidential pardon which the president graciously approved.
Akpodoro, an entrepreneur and philanthropist noted that it is also tirte for the FG to rehabilitate the benefiaries of the Presidential pardon by a way of mentoring and empowerment to enable them start a new life in freedom adding that his palace would engage stakeholders to come to the aid of the Urhobo sons to engage them in productive ventures that will bring out the best in them.
The Mayor call on Nigerians to forgive the freed citizens and reintegrate them properly into the society noting that forgiveness across faith is essential and an integral part of humanity saying a cross section of Nigerians misunderstood or deliberately chose to be ignorant of the prerogative clause and power of the President to grant pardon to convicts who showed enough remorse stating that,
President Tinubu, in exercise of his constitutional authority, granted pardons to over a hundred Nigerians who had been imprisoned across various eras—from the colonial, through military rule, to recent democratic times. This act of clemency has he noted sparked commentary and controversy from certain quarters, many of whom he said appear to misunderstand the legal and moral foundation of this power arguing that the prerogative of mercy is the constitutional power vested in a Head of State—such as a President or Governor—to grant a pardon or show clemency to a convicted person. It allows the executive to temper the strict application of the law by offering relief in exceptional circumstances.
Additionally, the mayor averred that “a pardon is a complete forgiveness for crime, which may be free or conditional. A free pardon removes all consequences of the conviction, though it does not erase the conviction itself, while commutation substitutes a less severe punishment for the one originally imposed.
“As remission is reducing the amount of a sentence or penalty without changing its nature just as reprieve is the delay in the execution of a punishment.” The Urhobo-born Mayor stated.
He noted that this constitutional provision was carried out by the president after due consultation with an advisory council distinct from the judicial process of appeal.
He called on Nigerians to show compassion to their fellow citizens who were pardoned so as not to defeat the purpose of the prerogative of mercy as granted by President Tinubu on the occasion of the national day celebration.
