Dariye and Nyame were jailed for stealing N1.16bn and N1.6bn, respectively.
However, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, has taken a swipe at Wike for his outburst, describing his condemnation of the pardon as “bolekaja politics”.
In a triple-tweet on his verified Twitter handle, the presidential spokesman revealed how the decision was presented to the Council, which includes all the 36 Governors by President Muhammadu Buhari and it was passed.
He expressed surprise at Wike’s outburst, wondering why he would condemn a decision he was meant to have been part of.
“I do not see the moral justification for Governor Wike’s criticism of the decision of the government to pardon for Governors Dariye and Nyame at a meeting to which he was duly invited but did not attend.
“The Rivers State Deputy Governor, Dr. Ipalibo Banigo who joined the Council of State meeting virtually switched off her camera so it was difficult to determine whether she sat behind the dark screen or just walked away after first joining.
“If the Governor felt so strongly about the pardons, the right was for him or his representative to sit through the meeting and assert views. This did not do. A press release after the meeting is bolekaja politics,” Shehu said.