22nd April, 2021
PRESS RELEASE :
PANTAMI : CALL FOR RESIGNATION AFTERTHOUGHT, BELATED
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has accused critics of the embattled
Minister of Communications and Digital Planning, Dr. Isa Pantami, of nursing an
afterthought and dissipating energy on a belated issue.
This was contained in a press statement circulated to the media on
Thursday, 22nd April, 2021 by the group’s director, Professor Ishaq
Akintola.
MURIC said, “The call for the resignation of the Minister of
Communications and Digital Planning, Dr. Isa Pantami, over remarks made as a
teenager and long before he became a minister is quite worrisome. The question
we are asking is ‘Why now’? Why were those radical remarks not mentioned before
now?
“This man is not new in
government. He headed a federal agency for four good years and he has been a minister
for another two years. Where were those critics when he was appointed as
Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA)
six years ago? Where were they when his status was upgraded and he became a
minister?
“Both appointments require screening by Senate. This means he has been
screened twice. Anyone who had anything on him at that time could have blown
the whistle but nobody did. He was screened and cleared after satisfying all
righteousness.
“Another important thing to note is that none of the nouveau critics who
are yelling today has mentioned any official misdemeanour committed by Dr.
Pantami while in office as DG of NITDA or since he started serving as minister.
The call for his resignation is therefore an afterthought. It is belated and it
should be ignored by patriotic Nigerians.
“It is our contention that the brilliant initiative of NIN which is
capable of exposing rogues and criminals is behind the attacks on him and calls
for his resignation. They saw the NIN as a threat to their nefarious
activities. That is why out of the blues we started hearing that he had
expressed radical views as a teenager and in his undergraduate days. It is
sheer afterthought. This is balderdash.
“We call on President
Muhammadu Buhari to ignore the rantings of Pantami’s critics. We advise Mr.
President to read between the lines. The idea is to rubbish the best
communication minister Nigeria ever had. But it is more than that. They want to
score a cheap political point with their demand for Pantami’s resignation. It
is also a ploy to weaken this administration. The NIN initiative which came
from Pantami is giving unscrupulous elements sleepless nights and their desire
is to stop it. They want our state of insecurity to continue. Mr. President
must not allow enemies of Nigeria to have their way. Pantami is not the real
target. President Buhari is the ultimate.”
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
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