US still opposes Alamieyeseigha's state pardon -Lawless




The United States of America, on Wednesday said its position on the pardon granted to former Bayelsa Governor, Dipreye Alamieyeseigha by President Goodluck Jonathan has not changed.
Alamieyeseigha is wanted in the United Kingdom for money laundering charges.
But Jonathan and the National Security Council granted him and a few others presidential pardon.
Condemning the decision, the U.S. had through its official twitter handle @USEmbassyAbuja  described it as “a setback in the fight against corruption."
Spokesperson the U.S. Department of State, Victoria Nuland at a daily press briefing in Washington said , "We see this as a setback for the fight against corruption, and also for our ability to play the strong role we've played in supporting rule of law and legal institution-building in Nigeria, which is very important for the future of the country obviously."
"We have made clear to the Nigerians that this puts a question mark on the kinds of work that we've been trying to do with them.
"We haven't yet taken the kinds of steps that you're suggesting Matt (the reporter who asked the question), but we're continuing to look at what's appropriate."
At a teleconference on US-Nigeria Binational Commission in Abuja on Wednesday, the Political Counselor, Embassy of the USA, Gregory Lawless, told journalists , that “the situation has not changed”.
He maintained that his country has not departed from its earlier statement where it condemned the action.
Lawless, however, added that whatever the disappointment was, the US had since moved on with its relationship with Nigeria.
 ”We have a very mature relationship. So we can recognize our differences and opinions on issues. We are moving on we have a lot of things to do”.
Lawless also assured Nigeria of the US support to tackle violent extremism.
Responding to a question on the proposed amnesty to Boko Haram members, Lawless said ”We are a working group as government of Nigeria embraces a more holistic approach to the issue of violent extremism, whether it is in the north or other areas. We think it is a positive development. We will work with Nigeria government as it develops its own policy approach as to counter violent extremism”.
Reeling out successes achieved so far by the binational commission, Lawless said the commission had successfully integrated civil society into the electoral process prior to the 2011 elections.
He said the commission had been able to sustained and elevated dialogue with energy sector officials on energy policy reforms to increase investment.
He said the two countries had also agreed to explore a partnership with the Nigerian Army to  build its civil affairs capacity to build trust between Nigeria's citizens and the military


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