It
is unclear what former governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha,
thinks now of criminals and corrupt people in the corridors of power.
But
the former governor once held tenaciously to the view that for Nigeria to move
forward, corrupt elements and those found to have abused their offices should
be barred from public office.
Few
weeks before he was arrested in the United Kingdom for fraud and money
laundering, Mr. Alamieyeseigha, who was recently pardoned by President Goodluck
Jonathan, said people tainted by crime and corruption should not be allowed to
run for office or hold “high political appointments.”
On
Tuesday August 2, 2005, during an anti-corruption seminar in Abuja on “Winning
the War against Corruption”, Mr. Alamieyeseigha, while commending the efforts
taken by the government of the time in fighting corruption, said public offices
should be no-go areas for corrupt people.
“It
is only in Nigeria where people who looted banks to a distress situation are
allowed to use such loots to open their own banks or are given high political
appointment,” the former governor lamented at the time.
The
seminar, which was an initiative of the Nuhu Ribadu-led Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, took place less than five weeks before the London
Metropolitan Police arrested the then governor in his London residence
with £1.5 million cash.
It
is not known whether the EFCC set up Mr. Alamieyeseigha to deliver the paper
given the fact that the commission had already substantially documented several
evidences of the former governor’s corruption at the time. Mr. Ribadu did not
answer or return calls Saturday.
While
delivering a paper titled: “Corruption Reduction Through Government Policies:
The Bayelsa Experience”, Mr Alamieyeseigha claimed Bayelsa State had put in
place various mechanisms to prevent corruption. He explained that corruption
“prevents national growth and roll back development and should be rejected by
all”.
The
former governor spoke like a man with a strong aversion for fraud and
corruption, even while he was stealing his state blind at the time.
Interestingly,
Mr Jonathan, who was his deputy in Bayelsa State at the time, represented Mr
Alamieyesiegha at the conference.
It
is not clear whether the former governor still holds this view. He could
not be reached for comments Saturday.
However,
political analysts have suggested that Mr Jonathan may have pardoned his former
boss to allow him run for a senatorial seat in 2015. And the presidency has
said even without the pardon, Mr. Alamieyeseigha is eligible to run for office
in two years.
If
that happens, Mr. Alamieyeseigha would have eaten his words, ignored his own
prescription while also openly demonstrating how cozy he is with corruption,
analysts say.
After
his arrest in the UK, Mr Alamieyeseigha jumped bail and escaped to Nigeria and reports
said he dressed incognito as a woman. He was impeached as governor and
later arrested by the EFCC for false declaration of assets and various acts of
money laundering that runs into billions of naira.
He
was sentenced to two years in prison and most of his ill-gotten properties
confiscated by the government but was released two days after his sentencing
due to time served in detention.
On
Tuesday, March 12, after a Council of State meeting, the presidency announced
that Mr Alamieyeseigha, and a few others (including a convicted rapist and
corrupt banker) had been pardoned. The presidency said Mr. Alamieyeseigha had
been remorseful of his crimes and would help in stabilising the fragile peace
on the Niger Delta.
Mr.
Alamieyeseigha is still a wanted fugitive in the UK. The UK government recently
requested his extradition to face charges of money laundering and absconding
from the law.
The
United States government condemned the pardon describing it as a “set back in
the fight against corruption.”
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