Ali Isa Pantami the minister of Communication and Digital
Economy, has responded to peoples reaction to the comments he made yeas back on
terrorism.
The minister has been under serious scrutiny for his comment
that was seen as a support for Terrorist groups. Various people has called for
his resignation of he should be fired by the president.
Daily Trust gathered that in a statement he made yesterday
during his Ramadan lecture at Al-Noor mosque in Abuja, he said his previous
comment were from his ignorance.
He further ascertained that the current fight against him
has political undertone.
Pantami said “For 15 years, I moved through the country
while educating people about the risks of terrorism. I have travelled to
Katsina, Gombe, Borno, Kano and Difain Niger Republic to advocate against
terrorism”.
“ I once engaged those with Boko Haram ideology in several
places. I have been writing pamphlets in Hausa, English and Arabic. I managed
to bring back several young persons who have derailed from the right path.
He further said “some of the comments I made years back,
that are generating controversies now were based on my understanding of
religious issues at the time, and I have changed several positions taken in the
past based on new evidence and maturity”.
He added that “I was young then when made a number of the
comments: i used to be in university, a number of the comments were during my
adolescent age. I started preaching when I was 13, many scholars and
individuals did not understand some of International events and therefore took
some positions, based on their understanding”.