Ayodele Fayose, former governor of Ekiti State, has berated President Muhammadu Buhari for standing by minister of communications and digital economy, Isa Pantami, despite his antecedents as a terrorism apologist.

Nigerians have accused Mr Buhari for endorsing terrorism by ignoring calls to sack Mr Pantami since revelations of Mr Pantami’s support for Al-Qaeda and Taliban became public.

Peoples Gazette reported how Mr Pantami plotted to assassinate former Kaduna governor, Patrick Yakowa, how he sympathised with Boko Haram terrorists calling them his “Muslims brothers“, as well as plots to wipe away Christians in Northern states.

Garaba Shehu, presidential spokesman, on Friday, said unlike former finance minister, Kemi Adeosun, who resigned her job after she was busted for forging her NYSC certificate, Mr Buhari decided to retain Mr Pantami in his government because the government consider s forgery as a more serious crime compared to Mr Pantami’s extremist views and support for terrorism.

Mr Fayose, an opposition figure and critic of the Buhari regime, in a series of tweets on Sunday, however, said its ridiculous to have a government that endorses and supports terrorism while claiming that forgery is a bigger crime than terrorism.

“It is funny that today, if those running the affairs of the country are not telling us that armed bandits must be seen as innocent until proven guilty, they will be saying offence of forgery is more grievous than open declaration of support for terrorists,” Mr Fayose said.

He further states that the country is no longer safe because Mr Buhari has sympathy for bandits and terrorists.

“Because of their inability to take decisive actions against these terrorists that they appear to have sympathy for,” Mr Fayose said, “Nigeria is no longer safe for anyone to live in.”

For over a week now, Nigerians have called for the sack of Mr Pantami over his attachment to terrorist views.

However, Mr Buhari, who acknowledged the impropriety of Mr Pantami’s extremist views via Mr Shehu, said the minister is a victim of a “cancel campaign” engineered by those who want him sacked.