Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, has defended the president’s decision to revise the recent presidential pardon list, describing it as a demonstration of courage and accountability.
On Wednesday, President Tinubu ordered the removal of individuals convicted of serious crimes, including kidnapping, drug trafficking, human trafficking, fraud, and unlawful possession of firearms, from the list of clemency beneficiaries.
Earlier, on October 11, Tinubu had granted pardons to 175 individuals following the Council of State’s approval.
Among the original beneficiaries was Maryam Sanda, sentenced to death for the 2017 murder of her husband, Bilyamin Mohammed Bello.
After public backlash, the president rescinded Sanda’s full pardon and commuted her death sentence to 12 years in prison.
Speaking on Prime Time, an Arise Television programme, Onanuga said Nigerians should see the revision as a sign of responsive leadership.
“What Nigerians ought to have seen now is that this president is not one that is afraid to reverse himself if he feels like he’s made some error,” he stated.
He added, “He’s a human being. He can make mistakes. He listens to the public. This is a president who wakes up in the morning to read all Nigerian newspapers and to watch the TV and knows what’s going on.”
Onanuga insisted that reviewing and adjusting decisions reflects leadership maturity, calling it “a matter of strength for you to do something, appraise it and make some adjustments.”
Onanuga acknowledged that Maryam Sanda’s case drew most of the criticism, while clarifying that some drug convicts still benefited from the revised clemency list.
He noted, “As to whether the president freed drug convicts, even the second list contains some drug offenders who were also given clemency.”
The reversal was one glaring instance where President Tinubu had publicly reversed a major policy decision in response to public sentiment.
Do you agree that this reflects a government willing to “listen, learn, and lead with humility,” and not one which did not think through such weight moral issue before deciding? Comment.
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