Nation
Buhari Aware Of Pantami’s Extremist Views Before Appointment, Ex-DSS Boss Alleges
Former Assistant Director with the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, has said the secret police informed the Federal Government and the National Assembly of the past radical pro-Taliban views of embattled Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, before his confirmation as minister in 2019.
This came as the Federal Executive Council (FEC), said the alleged link of the minister with Al-Qaeda and Taliban some years ago was not discussed at its meeting, last Wednesday.
These came on a day the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon Ndudi Elumelu, at plenary, moved for the immediate resignation or sack of the minister for showing sympathy to the deadly activities of insurgents.
Amachree, who spoke to newsmen, yesterday, however, said the minister must have been confirmed by the National Assembly due to a lot of factors, including federal character balancing.
Pantami, a former director-general with the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, is the only member of the Federal Executive Council from Gombe State.
Amachree also said the minister should resign as it was difficult to deradicalise someone of his kind.
He said DSS had information on all individuals of interest, adding that the minister’s past extremist views were communicated to the Federal Government and the legislature.
He said, “There is no information that escapes the DSS. We have all of it, all. When I was working there, we keep a catalogue of anybody of interest that comes up to limelight in this country.
“During the vetting process for anybody to be appointed a minister or commissioner or anything, your name is sent to the DSS for vetting. They check your background up to the extent of your grandmother.
‘’They check your schools up to the extent of your primary school. And of course, they keep a tab on you online and offline. We get a lot from open source intelligence and I can tell you that in Pantami’s case, we have it.
“But there is a political angle to it. When somebody is being appointed, if the security agencies see that there is something wrong with his name, they will send it to the appointing agency.
‘’The appointing agency will now decide amongst other variables either religious variable, federal character balancing variable, or political variable and say that, ‘Oh, yes, we know that this guy has this and that but let’s appoint him’.
“So, the political decision is not taken by the SSS. Even when you go to the Senate for confirmation, there is party by party and you can see that there are some political candidates that the opposition party will say that this one will not be appointed but because he belongs to that party, they will appoint him.
‘’So, these are political and federal balancing where they will say that there is nobody from this place that has been appointed, so, let’s appoint him.”
The ex-DSS director, who disclosed that the United States was gathering information on the communications minister, said, “He (Pantami) has just submitted his name into US database. The cataloguing of people is not automatic; it comes in drips and drops.
‘’Now, people are talking about him and that has come to the attention of the United States Embassy in Nigeria already. Now, they will do a deeper dive into his background. They will catalogue him and now they will start watching him and if it comes to a very critical level, they will place him on a no-fly zone.”
Also, the Federal Executive Council (FEC), said the minister’s alleged link with Al-Qaeda and Taliban some years ago was not discussed at its meeting.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who briefed State House correspondents at the end of the council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the issue was not raised at the meeting.
Pantami was not physically present at the meeting but attended virtually from his office.
Fielding questions on whether the council discussed the matter and government was comfortable with its burden on its image, Mohammed said, “I’m not going to go into the issue of whether government is comfortable or not. I will answer your question directly. It was not discussed at the council meeting.”
Pantami, who had been embroiled in controversies over his previous comments endorsing both terrorists’ organizations have, however, announced that he had renounced the views.
He said during his daily Ramadan lecture at Annor Mosque in Abuja last Saturday that he now knew better about some of the comments he made in the past.
Pantami had posited that the campaign against him was politically motivated, saying “for 15 years, I have moved round the country while educating people about the dangers of terrorism.
‘’I have travelled to Katsina, Gombe, Borno, Kano states and Difa in Niger Republic to preach against terrorism.
“I have engaged those with Boko Haram ideologies in different places. I have been writing pamphlets in Hausa, English and Arabic. I have managed to bring back several young persons who have derailed from the right path.
“Some of the comments I made some years ago 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.
“I was young when I made some of the comments; I was in university, some of the comments were made when I was a teenager.
“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, some have come to change their positions later.”
Meanwhile, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu, yesterday called for the immediate resignation or sack of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, for showing sympathy to the deadly activities of insurgents.
Relying under matters of privilege, Elumelu asked the House to cause a debate on the issue, particularly demanding Pantami’s exit from office.
Elumelu said that Pantami’s apology didn’t hold water, stressing that even the minister had apologized for his previous links with terrorists.
He said, “Mr Speaker, my privilege borders on one of the serving ministers called Sheikh Ali Isa Ibrahim Pantami. He is the Minister for Communication and Digital Economy of the Federal Republic. And the portfolio that he currently occupies gives him the free latitude to administer, coordinate and manage flow of sensitive information within and outside the shores of Nigeria.
“Mr. Speaker, there have been insinuations that he has direct links and personally subscribes to the extreme Islamic beliefs of Al-Qaeda, Taliban and Boko Haram sects. Evidence compelling the cyber space lays strong credence to a relationship and existing mutual collaboration between him and the deceased Yemen terrorist.
‘’Recently, Mr Speaker, while the minister was answering questions during his daily Ramandan lecture a few days ago, he owned up that he took extreme positions in support of the brutal exploits of Al-Queda and Taliban out of ignorance, claiming that he was young when he did that but now he is matured.
“Mr Speaker, I feel it will be out of place for me to sit here and allow this chamber not to speak about it and totally call for his resignation or suspension.”
Ruling on the matter, the Speaker, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, who presided over plenary, faulted Elumelu for raising a point of privilege without showing how his privileges were breached.
This, however, came when many members had indicated interests to speak on the matter.
Usually, such issues are presented as a formal motion to be debated but Elumelu came under point of personal privilege, prompting a technicality to it.
“I think you came under the wrong order. But your point of order is well noted. As you know, we don’t debate such issues, if it comes under privilege. Thank you,” Gbajabiamila said.
Meanwhile, as many individuals and groups insist on the resignation of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, over his pro-Taliban links, the Department of State Services (DSS) has disowned the view expressed by its former Director, Denise Amachree, on the intelligence the secret police reportedly handed the Buhari administration.
The DSS, yesterday, distanced itself from the views expressed by the former director, claiming his views were personal opinions and did not represent those of the agency.
The Spokesman for the DSS, Dr. Peter Afunanya, who issued the disclaimer, said Amachree spoke for himself and not the DSS.
Afunanta said, “The opinions expressed by Mr Dennis Amachree on sundry national security issues are his personal positions and do not in any way represent the stand of the Service (the Department of State Services)”.
There have been growing pressures on Pantami to resign over his pro-Taliban views but the Federal Government is yet to react to the public opinion on the minister, who has revolutionised the communications industry and earned some applause in the process.
Nation
Gombe Opens Bid For Construction Of Three-Arm Zone Project
Gombe State Ministry of Works, Housing and Transportation has opened bids for the construction of three arms zone complexes within the Gombe Capital Special Development Zone which held at the Ministry’s conference hall.
Speaking while presiding over the bid opening proceedings, the Commissioner, Engr. . Usman Maijama’a Kallamu assured the bidders that the bid opening would be carried out using procurement process which is based on specific regulations that are credible, fair, and transparent.
The Commissioner, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Alh. Idris Yambiu Buba said that the Ministry will continue to align itself for optimal results in the implementation of government policies and projects in line with Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya’s commitment to bringing development to the State.
While assuring the bidders of a transparent process, the SSA to the Governor on Special Project, Arch. Yakubu Mamman thanked Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya for his foresight in infrastructural development of the State, adding that government is committed to ensuring that all bidders had an equal chance to participate and compete based on merit to maintain standards and specifications.
Nation
Gov Mbah Signs Bill To Establish Teaching Hospital In Enugu
Governor of Enugu State, Dr Peter Mbah, yesterday, signed the Enugu State University of Medical and Applied Sciences (SUMAS) Teaching Hospital Bill 2024 into Law, promising to expedite action to actualise the teaching hospital immediately to provide quality training and healthcare services in the Enugu North part of the State and the State in general.
Mbah, while commending the Enugu State House of Assembly for accelerating action on the processing and passage of the Executive Bill, said that establishing SUMAS Teaching Hospital was in line with his manifesto.
He said, “What we have done by signing into law the Enugu State University of Medical and Applied Sciences Teaching Hospital Bill is that we now have in place a legal framework to immediately begin to put in place all that is required to upgrade SUMAS to a teaching hospital. This is part of our campaign promises and we are committed to delivering on that expeditiously.
“We believe that the importance and significance of siting a teaching hospital in our Enugu North zone can never be lost on us. So, we are not going to spend any time in making sure that everything that is necessary and required to upgrade and get the teaching hospital operational is put in place. With this Law, we are going to redouble our commitment and our efforts to achieve that.”
He assured the Governing Council and the Management of SUMAS of his continued support, adding that his administration would equally be counting on their pedigree and contacts to bring the teaching hospital to fruition in record time.
“We are going to continue to support you and we are also going to continue to count on your experience, network, and profile in raising resources to actualize the project.
“This year alone, we are going to spend 33 per cent of our budget on education. This underscores the importance of education to this administration. So, be sure to come to us whenever there is a need. We are going to support you because we are interested in education and we are investing heavily in it,” he said.
On his part, the Speaker, Enugu State House of Assembly, Hon. Uchenna Ugwu, who also spoke at the Bill signing witnessed by the Chairman of SUMAS Governing Council, Msgr. Obiora Ike, and the Vice Chancellor, Prof. James Ogbonna, and top hierarchies of the institution, commended Governor Mbah’s speed and faithfulness in delivering on his campaign promises. He assured that the House of Assembly was ever ready to fast-track every executive bill that would impact positively on the state and its people.
“We promised we are going to support this administration by doing our job expeditiously to ensure that there is no delay in your delivery of democracy dividends to our people. Therefore, the SUMAS Teaching Hospital Bill received expedited hearing and today you have the signing of the bill into law,” he stated.
Nation
Ododo Applauds Security Agencies Over Rescue Of 43 Bus Passengers
Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo has applauded security agencies in the State for their efforts in the rescue of 43 bus passengers.
The Special Adviser on Media to the Governor, Ismaila Isah disclosed this in a statement yesterday.
The statement noted that the governor welcomed the news of the release of the abducted bus passengers in Okehi Local Government Area of the State and called for sustained collaboration between security agencies and local communities to improve intelligence gathering and prevent crime and criminality in all parts of the state.
Ododo commended the caretaker chairman of Okehi LGA, Mr Amoka Eneji, the Nigeria Police, Nigeria Professional Hunters, Ebira Local Hunters Group and other security agencies for their intervention, which led to the rescue of the passengers who were abducted outside the state.
“Governor Ododo also commends the response of security agencies to the robbery incidence in Felele area of Lokoja and called for more urgency in addressing cases of insecurity in any part of the state.
“The Governor reassured the people of the state that his administration will not relent in its efforts in deploying maximum resources to ensure that all communities in the state remain unsafe for criminal elements.”
-
Politics4 days ago
How Social Media Threatened My 40-Year-Old Marriage -Lai Mohammed
-
News4 days ago
We May Shut Down Universities Indefinitely, Non- Teaching Staff Threaten
-
Sports2 days ago
Immediate Relegation Awaits Man City, If…
-
Politics2 days ago
FEC Approves 10% Appointments For Youths
-
Oil & Energy4 days ago
Africa’s Energy Leap From Fossil Fuels To Renewable Powerhouse
-
Sports4 days ago
All African Games: Nigeria Finishes Second On Medal Table
-
Rivers4 days ago
RSLCSC Boss Celebrates Fubara’s Supreme Court Victory
-
News2 days ago
Fubara Decorates ADC, Camp Commandant With New Ranks