Pantami speaks on past comments supporting Al-Qaeda

Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Ali Isa Pantami, has renounced some of his views on terrorist group, Al-Qaeda.

Okay.ng understands that the minister has been under fire on social media over the comments which were interpreted as endorsing the extremist sects.

However, Pantami while speaking at a Ramadan lecture at Annor Mosque in Abuja on Saturday said the comments in support of the terrorists were made when he was young and had not fully understood the issues involved.

He said: “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.

“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.”