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   A member of the House of Representatives, Yusuf Gagdi, has said the Department of State Services didn’t send any report to the National Assembly on the past extremist views of the embattled Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, during his ministerial screening in 2019. The lawmaker, who is the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Navy, said he was amongst those who screened Pantami in 2019. The lawmaker was reacting to a claim by a former Assistant Director with the DSS, Dennis Amachree, that the secret police screened Pantami before his confirmation as minister in 2019 but the minister sailed through National Assembly screening due to a lot of factors including federal character balancing. When asked whether the DSS sent Pantami’s past extremist views to the National Assembly during his screening in 2019, Gagdi said, “I don’t think it is true that there was (anything) in that report regarding Pantami to the National Assembly, quote me anyw...

Indications that the House of Representatives may formally present, debate and call for the suspension or outright sack of the Minister for Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami via a motion became more visible on Sunday. This is as a member of the House, Hon. Ben Rollands Igbakpa, representing the Ethiope Federal Constituency of Delta State stated that entrusting Pantami with the sensitive bio-data of Nigerians was unsafe. Pantami is currently embattled for showing sympathy for insurgents in a series of utterances that had provoked thoughts and attracted widespread condemnations from Nigerians even though the Minister has since shown remorse. It will be recalled that the Minority Leader of the House, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu had through a Point of Privilege raised the matter at the House plenary, Wednesday last week. But his Order which was conventionally not debatable was however “noted” by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila. Elumelu had said: “ Mr Speaker, my privilege border on one of th...

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has faulted the continued stay of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, as a member of the Federal Executive Council (FEC). He believes it is unreasonable for the government to allow anyone in a situation such as that of the embattled minister to remain in office. The governor made the remarks on Wednesday via his Twitter handle while reacting to the comments said to have been made by Pantami in the past in support of extremist groups. Although the minister has renounced the comments, saying he was a changed person, Governor Wike insisted that it was wrong to allow Pantami to continue with his duties as a minister. According to him, the minister ought to have relinquished his duties but the situation has worsened because the government does not care. The governor stressed that the time when the minister made the comments does not matter, saying they could be described as the germinated seeds that have led to the killing ...