Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami,
has said his past controversial comments on terrorist groups including Taliban
and Al-Qaeda were misconstrued.
The minister also said he has no issues with Christians,
adding that his personal driver, secretary and technical assistant are all
Christians
Pantami made this known in an interview with Peoples Gazette
on Friday.
He said, “My personal driver is Mai Keffi, a practising
Christian. I also have a Christian, Ms Nwosu, as my secretary and Dr Femi, also
a Christian, as my technical adviser.
“If I did not like Christians or I did not see them as my
brothers and sisters, I would not have been working with them for so long. I
employed more Christians than Muslims on my staff because I believe in merit
and competence over ethnic or tribal sentiments.”
“I have never condoned terrorism and I reject any
affiliation to terror groups. I have long preached peaceful coexistence amongst
people of every faith and ethnicity,” the minister added.
Pantami has come under fire over his alleged link with
terrorist groups, with many Nigerians calling on the President, Major General
Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) to sack the minister.
The Nigerian Twitter community also said the minister could
not be trusted with the data of Nigerians, especially with the ongoing National
Identification Number and Subscriber Identity Module integration exercise under
his watch.
In a viral video recorded many years ago which was later
confirmed by his lawyer, Michael Numa, the minister was seen engaging the late
Boko Haram leader, Mohammed Yusuf, in a public debate.
Pantami, an Islamic scholar, according to Peoples Gazette,
also once declared that he was always happy when infidels were massacred.
Peoples Gazette said Pantami’s comments were contained in
three audio recordings of his teachings in the 2000s, when he took extreme
positions in support of the brutal exploits of Al Qaeda and Taliban elements on
a campaign to obliterate the West and conquer other parts of the world.
But the minister in his latest interview said his statements
were misconstrued, rejecting affiliations with terror groups.
The hashtag #PantamiResign has since been trending online.
The supporters of the minister have also come up with a counter-hashtag –
#PantamiWillStay.
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