The Chairman of the Senate Committee on FCT, Senator Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi West), yesterday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to grant presidential pardon and amnesty to treasury looters, Daily Trust reports.
Melaye said in a statement yesterday that the looters should be given six months to return public funds or face the full wrath of the law.
“Though an unrepentant advocate for integrity and forthrightness, especially from public office holders, l however sincerely want to recommend that Mr. President grants presidential amnesty/pardon to all those who looted our treasury provided they return all proceeds of their loot to the government within six months of the declaration of the amnesty.
“This, I believe will encourage the voluntary return of looted funds, empower the government financially to immediately commence the implementation of projects and programmes that will stimulate the economy, raise the peoples’ standard of living and save the judiciary and law enforcement agencies the agony of fruitlessly pursuing looters in and out of the courtrooms. In the long run, this would be a win-win situation for both the government and people of Nigeria,” he said.
Melaye added: “At the expiration of the six months’ ‘Moratorium’, all those who failed to comply would then be made to face the reality of aggressive and expeditious prosecution and eventual jail terms for convicts in accordance with the laws of the land.”
He also suggested the removal of ‘His Excellency and Distinguished’ from the names of the president, vice president, governors and senators respectively.
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