The National Council of State has approved President Bola Tinubu’s recommendation for presidential clemency for 175 inmates across the country.
Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna disclosed this while briefing state house correspondents after the Council’s meeting on Thursday at the presidential villa in Abuja.
He said the Council unanimously endorsed Tinubu’s proposal, which covered full pardons, sentence reductions and commutations for inmates on death row.
“Of the total recommended for presidential clemency were about 82 pardons, 65 persons recommended for reduced sentences, and seven whose sentences were commuted from death to life imprisonment,” Sani said.
He confirmed that the late Ogoni Nine, executed in 1995 for their environmental activism, were among those granted a posthumous pardon.
The governor said: “This act is symbolic and restorative. It demonstrates President Tinubu’s commitment to reconciliation and national healing.”
In addition to the clemency approvals, the Council also ratified the 2024/2025 national honours awards.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu conferred honours on several deserving Nigerians and friends of Nigeria, including Bill Gates, for his contributions to public health and humanitarian efforts in Nigeria.
The awards also celebrated heroes of Nigeria’s pro-democracy struggle, marking 26 years of unbroken democracy.
Among the honourees were veteran journalist and publisher Sam Amuka Pemu, the Ogoni Nine and Ogoni Four for their environmental advocacy, the Super Falcons and D’Tigress for their achievements in international sports, and Professor Mahmood Yakubu, immediate past chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), for his service to Nigeria’s democratic process.
Governor Sani also announced that the Council approved the appointment of Aminu Yusuf from Niger State as chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC).
He said the Council ratified the appointment of Alhaji Tonga Betara Bularafa as the federal commissioner representing Yobe State at the commission.
“In attendance were former presidents and heads of state, Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar, as well as governors and other members of the Council,” he added.
Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo told journalists that the Council further approved the appointment of Professor Joash Amupitan as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“Mr. President, in keeping with statutory provisions, presented the name of Professor Joash Amupitan, a highly respected scholar of impeccable integrity who has never participated in partisan politics, and his appointment was unanimously endorsed by the Council,” Uzodinma said.
