The Christian Association of Nigeria has lambasted the Presidency for defending the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, and his past radical pro-Taliban comments.
The apex Christian body in the country also said non-Muslims have been the target of the minister right from his days as Chief Imam of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University mosque in Bauchi State.
CAN General Secretary, Joseph Daramola, stated this on Friday. The secretary of the Christian body said it was not surprising that the Presidency swiftly came out to exonerate Pantami despite his past radical views and support for terrorists.
Daramola said, “What do you expect? You think the Presidency will sack him? There is what we call corporate interest. The Presidency is protecting its interest. Didn’t the Presidency appoint Pantami in the first place? Pantami must have been given specific instructions. The government studies the characters they put in particular positions. If you are eloquent in speaking and you can lie, you can be made minister of communications. If you are one that knows how to fight workers, you can be made minister of labour. If you are known for your academic prowess and you can manipulate the academic environment to suit government policies, they put you in education. So, that is what government does. Should we now expect the government to say, no, we jettison him (Pantami)? No, they won’t deny him. They have their reasons for making him a minister in the first place.”