Former lawmaker and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Dino Melaye, has lambasted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the presidential pardon recently granted to several convicted drug offenders.

Melaye, in a post shared via his Instagram page, described the action as a mockery of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and its fight against drug trafficking in Nigeria.

According to the former Kogi West senator, Tinubu’s decision to pardon the offenders undermines the sacrifices of NDLEA officials who risk their lives daily to combat drug crimes.

“By granting presidential pardon to 90 drug offenders, President Tinubu has made nonsense of the NDLEA’s efforts,” Melaye said.

He further suggested that the Federal Government should scrap the NDLEA altogether, since its mission to rid Nigeria of narcotics has now been “ridiculed” by the president’s decision.

“The NDLEA should be scrapped because the same government that should be supporting their work is undoing it,” he added.

Melaye’s remarks come amid public outrage over reports that 70 to 90 convicted drug traffickers were among those granted clemency as part of Tinubu’s latest presidential pardon list.

Critics have argued that the move sends the wrong signal to both local and international partners battling the global drug trade, while others have called for greater transparency in the pardon process.

Neither the Presidency nor the NDLEA has issued an official response to Melaye’s comments as of the time of this report.