“Where he fails to resign voluntarily, we would expect President Buhari to relieve him of his ministerial position. We equally add our voice to the demand that the allegations against Dr. Pantami be thoroughly investigated by relevant security agencies and if indicted, he should be prosecuted in accordance with the relevant laws of the Federation.”
-April 2021, News/comments
PLATEAU-Making the position of the Evangelical Church Winning All, (ECWA) known, over the general outcry of Nigerians for the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Pantami to step aside on an alleged past involvement in terrorist act, is the President of the Church, Rev. Stephen Panya, who noted that if President Muhammadu Buhari refuses to sack the Minister, it then means that Buhari’s government is complicit in the divisive propaganda of dangerous elements of the society as well as the murderous activities of rampaging terrorists.
Dr. PantamiRev. Panya disclosed this while issuing a communique today during the Church’s 68th General Church Council, GCC in Jos. He also advised relevant agencies to place the minister on a watch list while carrying out a thorough investigation, and if the minister is found guilty at the end, he should be prosecuted. The Church warned that if Federal Government should play politics with it, a great danger await the country. It reads:
“The Council observes the serious nature of the allegations levelled against the Nigeria’s current Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, the verity of which allegations he has affirmed, but is quick to excuse himself, pleading immaturity and limited knowledge for his support for terrorism at the time. “We join other well-meaning Nigerians and corporate citizens like Human Rights Writers’ Association (HURIWA), Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and other Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to demand for his resignation as a member of the Federal Executive Council.
“Where he fails to resign voluntarily, we would expect President Buhari to relieve him of his ministerial position. “We equally add our voice to the demand that the allegations against Dr. Pantami be thoroughly investigated by relevant security agencies and if indicted, he should be prosecuted in accordance with the relevant laws of the Federation.”
“This will rekindle the faith of the citizenry in the Nigerian project and assure them that there are no sacred cows in Buhari’s cabinet. Failure to do that will make the Buhari’s government complicit in the divisive propaganda of dangerous elements of the society as well as the murderous activities of rampaging terrorists.”
“Furthermore, inaction on this might inadvertently imply that President Buhari prefers the enemies of the nation over its citizens and cares little about the sanctity of the constitution he swore to abide by.”
On the other hand “We observe with dismay the interminable flippant borrowing that has become characteristic of the present government of the Federation, without proper accountability for those already taken. “The Council questions the rationale for the continuous taking of loans despite the absence of any tangible evidence of the positive impact of previous loans on the socio-economic lives of the citizens. “We therefore, call on government to focus on creating the enabling environment for adequate harnessing and effective utilization of available resources that God has endowed the nation with for wealth creation, instead of the quick resort to foreign loans, thereby mortgaging the future of many generations of our children.” The Church called for the immediate release of 15 Village Heads and youth leaders detained without trial as well as the release of all people abducted by terrorists especially Leah Sharibu, Grace Lukas, Alice Loksha, Lilian Gyang, Pastor Lawrence Zongo, the remaining Chibok girls and the students from the various institutions”
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