The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has had an audience with President Muhammadu Buhari over plea for presidential pardon for former Governor of Old Bendel State (now Edo and Delta States), late Prof. Ambrose Alli.

The President has subsequently instructed the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, to begin the process.

Governor Obaseki disclosed this during the Memorial Service held in honour of late Prof. Alli at the Saint Ambrose Catholic Church, in Emaudo, Ekpoma on Saturday, September 22, 2018.

He said he is optimistic that at the next meeting of the Council on Prerogative of Mercy, the President will officially grant the pardon.

Obaseki also assured that he is working with his Delta State counterpart to set modalities to ensure that pension due to late Alli will be paid to his widow and the family.

The governor lauded the former governor’s development strides while he held sway as the governor of what is now Delta and Edo States, noting that the feats are not just intimidating but showed how much can be achieved in just one term in office.

According to him, “I had an audience with President Muhammadu Buhari while in China and discussed the issue of a presidential pardon for late Prof. Alli and the president asked me to meet with the Attorney General of the Federation. This I have done and have also written to him.”

Delta State Governor, Mr. Ifeanyi Okowa said Delta State will continue to remember Alli for developing the state and has a lot to thank him for. “We are grateful, as his developmental strides can still be seen, years after his death,” he said.

The former governor’s eldest son, Mr. Andrew Folorunso Alli, who is the Ezomo of Ekpoma, regretted that his late father was still termed a criminal despite his contributions to the development of Delta and Edo states and Nigeria.