A group, Nasarawa Youth Vanguard for Justice, has threatened to sue an online news platform, Sahara Reporters, for allegedly publishing libellous information against the minister of communication and digital economy, Dr Ibrahim Isa Pantami which borders on corruption.
The group in a statement on Sunday, in Lafia by it’s coordinator and secretary Barr Mohammed Araf and Abdulrahman Aliyu Esq, denied allegations by the online media that the minister bought three houses in the heart of Abuja within less than a year of his appointment as a minister.
They described the publication as malicious aimed at maligning the personality of the minister and the integrity of the government of President Mohammadu Buhari.
“We want the public, as a matter of principle, to ignore such online reports as a figment of the reporters imagination that cannot hold water, this is because there is no iota of truth whatsoever in the allegation of purchasing of 3 houses within the subsisting period of this very important assignment.
“It may interest the general public to know that one of the apartment claimed by the said report has been occupied by the minister since 2017, two years later before becoming a minister and the other sister’s house, rented in December 2019,” the group said
The group therefore asked for retraction with public apology from Sahara Reporters within two weeks on such lies and delete the said publication from it’s website or face legal action.
The coordinator of the Nasarawa Youth Vanguard for Justice, Mohammed Araf, explained further that the minister was doing well as a lecturer in Saudi kingdom where he was paid highly in Riyad before joining the Buhari government to offer selfless services as part of his contribution to the development of the country.
He wondered why the online medium will choose to malign the characters of highly respected personalities in the country without getting their facts correctly, citing an example in 2018 when the same media organization said President Buhari had died and that what the country has as it’s president is one Jibrin from Sudan.
He said the minister was a key player to the progress and success of this administration having worked first as DG NITDA where he brought his expertise to bear on the ICT sector, by introducing different policy guidelines for the ICT industry in line with NITDA callings.
