We Didn’t Discuss Pantami’s Pro-Taliban Views At FEC Meeting – Lai Mohammed

• “I’m not going to go into the issue of whether government is comfortable or not“

Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, says the subject of Pantami’s views on terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and Taliban was not broached at the federal executive council (FEC) meeting.

The FEC held its 42nd virtual meeting on Wednesday presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa, Abuja.

Pantami attended the virtual council meeting, remotely from his office.

When asked if the controversial issue of Pantami’s pro-Al-Qaeda views was brought up, Mohammed said the matter did not come up for discussion.

“I’m not going to go into the issue of whether government is comfortable or not. I will answer your question directly. It was not discussed at the council meeting,” he said.

In videos from the 2000s, Pantami, who is a known Islamic scholar, was reported to have said while he was against the extremist anti-western ideologies of Boko Haram, he supports some of what Al-Qaeda and Taliban had preached.

But he recanted the views at a recent lecture in Abuja, saying that his position at the time was based on his understanding as a teenager.

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