Jolly Tavoro Nyame
Governor of Taraba State
In office
29 May 1999 – 29 May 2007
Preceded byAina Owoniyi
Succeeded byDanbaba Suntai
Governor of Taraba State
In office
January 1992 – November 1993
Preceded byAdeyemi Afolahan
Succeeded byYohanna Dickson
Personal details
Born (1955-12-25) 25 December 1955
Zing, Taraba State, Nigeria
Political partyPeople's Democratic Party (PDP)
Alma materBachelors Degree in Theology, Emory University, USA.

Jolly Tavoro Nyame (born 25 December 1955) in Zing Local Government Area of present-day Taraba State) was Governor of Taraba State in Nigeria from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007. He also served as governor of the state from January 1992 to November 1993. He is a member of the People's Democratic Party (PDP)[1]

Early life

Nyame was born on (Dec 25, 1955) in Zing, Taraba state to Christian Parents. In line with his Christian faith, he took up a vocation in Priesthood and was Ordained a Reverend in the United Methodist Church of Nigeria.[1]

Political life

Nyame joined politics in 1991, contested for Governor of Taraba state in 1992 and won. His term as governor in 1992 was short-lived due to the military takeover of power.[1] In 1999, Nyame contested as a governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party and won. He was also re-elected in 2003, making him the only individual to have won three governorship elections in Taraba state.[1]

Criminal charges

Upon leaving office in 2007, Nyame was charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for a fraud of 1.64 billion naira in a forty-one count charge of Fraud.[1] In 2007, Nyame admitted to misappropriating 180 million naira out of 250 million naira meant for stationaries in Taraba state and offered to return the same.[1][2]

Conviction

On May 30, 2018, Nyame was convicted by the High court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, under the ruling of Justice Adebukola Banjoko for the charges against him and was sentenced to 14 years in prison. He was asked to refund the monies he diverted.[1][3]

In November 2018, The Court of Appeal in Abuja affirmed his conviction on 29 counts. The Appellate court however reviewed the sentences imposed by the trial court and sentenced him to 5 separate 12 year term of imprisonment which were to run concurrently instead of the initial 14 year Jail term and ordered him to pay a fine of 185 million naira.[4] On 7 February 2020, the Supreme Court affirmed the 12 year jail term Judgment and set aside the fines imposed on him by the courts on the grounds that they were outrageous and done without any prompting.[5]

Pardon

On April 14, the federal government of Nigeria granted Joshua Dariye and Jolly Nyame a presidential pardon. The action was criticised by civil society organisations and the general public. [6][7]

Personal life

Nyame is married to Priscilla J. T. Nyame.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Jolly Nyame: 13 things you may not know about jailed ex-governor". 2 June 2018.
  2. ↑ "N1.6 Billion Fraud: Ex- Taraba state governor Jolly Nyame foun". Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  3. ↑ "Former Taraba governor Jolly Nyame jailed 14 years". 30 May 2018.
  4. ↑ "Supreme Court upholds jail term of ex-governor Jolly Nyame". 7 February 2020.
  5. ↑ "Jolly Nyame: Supreme Court affirms conviction of Taraba governor". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  6. ↑ "Buhari pardons Dariye, Nyame, two APC chieftains jailed for multibillion-naira loot". 15 April 2022.
  7. ↑ "Withdraw pardon for Dariye, Nyame, uphold oath of office, SERAP tells Buhari". 17 April 2022.
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