The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) has added its weight to the calls on President Muhammadu Buhari to relieve the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, of his appointment,saying he is dangerous to the peace of the country.
The pressure also emphasized the need for the Minister to be thoroughly investigated by the Department of State Service (DSS) against the backdrop of his alleged link with terrorist groups
Debo Adeniran,the chairman of CACOL conveyed his group’s position in a letter he wrote to President Buhari, dated Monday, April, 26, 2021, and obtained by PREMIUM NEWS.
The group said that the allegations levelled against the minister was not only weighty, but an embarrassment to the administration, adding that his continued stay in government would be dangerous to the government.
It added that its concern on the matter was based on the critical assessment of the various allegations against the minister as well as the arguments of both sides of those for and against the calls for the sack.
Pantami had not denied the authenticity of the texts, audio and video clips containing utterances and statements credited to him, although he claimed that he had repented, having erred as an innocent youth,the group said.
It also said:“Mr. President, we wish to state unequivocally that the fact that Pantami has developed the level of orientation that made him uttered those grievous words and statements as stated above, cannot be wished away by mere recanting which some people in your cabinet are claiming he has done.
“Ideological issues are ingrained in the mind of those who pursue it. Even when they denounce it, they are not to be trusted because they can always go back to that conviction that led them into accepting that extremism and for somebody who has said that people should be killed and that he is happy when he sees that and who has supported terrorists in the past, we want to believe that it cannot get out of his mind so easily.”
The group said that due to the sensitive nature of his ministry, Pantami could easily let out information about Nigerians to the terrorists.
It furtherbmaintained that in the area of the security system, the ministry also could have a link with the way security communication were being organised and deployed and that Pantami could sabotage the process by facilitating access to the terrorists to jam the communication system of the military and other security agencies in the country.
“Your Excellency, we are of the opinion that Pantami is a dangerous person that ought not to be a minister of the Federal Republic if all the agencies of government that screened ministerial nominees, including the Senate and the State Security Service carried out their due diligence before he was sworn in as a minister.
“A situation whereby the Senate would ask a ministerial nominee to take a bow showed the level of mediocrity among those in government considering the fact that governance is a serious administrative endeavour guided by international best practices.
“He is indeed one of the tars sown by the enemies of the country in your cabinet when Your Excellency was asleep. His continued presence in your cabinet is like leaving a venomous snake under the bed and someone goes to sleep or leaving a spark of fire on the roof and someone goes to sleep.
“He is dangerous to the peace and security of Nigeria, he is a security risk to the nation. Even if he has denounced his extremist orientation, our mind would only be at rest if he is removed”
