BY AGENCY REPORTER
AS the controversy over alleged affiliation with terrorist groups continues to mount, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, has renounced his past comments.
Pantami said, for over a decade, he took the crusade on dangers of terrorism across major parts of the north, adding that he brought back many young persons who had derailed to normalcy.
The Minister spoke while answering questions during a daily Ramadan lecture at Annor Mosque, in Abuja on Saturday, according to Daily Trust.
He was quoted as saying, “For 15 years, I have moved round the country while educating people about the dangers of terrorism. I have traveled 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.”
Pantami said some of the comments he made some years ago that were generating controversies now were based on his understanding of religious issues at the time.
“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 the university, some of the comments were made when I was a teenager,” he said.
“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,” the Minister stressed.
