The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded the dismissal of Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, over statements he made in the past in support of Islamic extremist groups.

Audio recordings of Mr Pantami’s past teachings where he declared support for Al-Qaeda and Taliban resurfaced last week, generating debates on social media platforms with many Nigerians calling for his removal and others defending him.

Pantami, an Islamic cleric, denied any links with the groups. He, however, admitted making the controversial statements supporting the groups but said on Saturday that his views on such extremist groups have changed.

“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,” Daily Trust newspaper quoted him as saying during an Islamic lecture at an Abuja mosque.

Many Nigerians have, however, called on Pantami to resign or be sacked as minister after more Nigerians became aware of his past statements.

On Sunday, Nigeria’s main opposition party, PDP, joined the call for the minister’s resignation.

“Our party’s position is predicated on the heightening concerns in the public space and in the international arena of possible compromises by the communication minister, who has access to sensitive government documents and information, in addition to data of all individuals including high profile personalities in the public and private sectors as well as the traditional and faith-based circles,” the PDP said in the statement signed by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan.

The party also charged the State Security Service (SSS) to probe Pantami for allegedly compromising “the NIN registration exercise by giving room for the registration of aliens and invaders from other countries as our citizens.”

This is coming on the heels of allegations the Minister was placed on the US terror watchlist.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has reacted to the alleged placement of the minister on a terror watch list. The FBI, in its response to newsmen states…

“Consistent with our standard posture, we can neither confirm nor deny whether an individual is on the watch list.

Asian markets rose on Monday after recovery hopes for the Pandemic-battered US economy fuelling another round of record highs on Wall Street to close last week’s trade.

Both the Dow and S&P finished at new peaks on Friday and also posted their fourth consecutive weekly gains, following on the heels of strong data for American housing starts, employment and retail sales.

Investors are banking on accelerated US pandemic containment efforts marking a step toward economic normalcy, with half of all adults in the country now having had at least one vaccine dose.

The easing of restrictions in Europe has also boosted optimism.

“Stocks will kick off the week at record highs, with investors digesting what appears to be an optimistic recovery despite mounting concerns about new Covid-19 variants,” said Stephen Innes of Axi.

With less economic data on the calendar in the days ahead and the Fed in a communications blackout ahead of its April 28 rates meeting, “it might be a week for spring housekeeping in the markets,” he added.

Hong Kong and Shanghai were both up more than one percent in morning trade, despite first quarter economic growth in China skating under market expectations.

Tokyo rose 0.2 percent after a shaky start with investors searching for new purchase cues.

Stock markets pulled back from record levels on Monday while focus was firmly on the game of football as Europe’s wealthiest clubs seek to form a breakaway Super League.

Among the dozen football clubs looking to form their own tournament, shares in the publicly-listed Italian side Juventus and England’s Manchester United both jumped.

Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan on Monday announced plans for a breakaway European Super League.

“The financial incentive for the clubs is plain to see, with a multi-billion dollar package at the heart of the scheme, albeit it would forever break the integrity of the club game,” said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com.

Shares of Juventus were up 17.5 percent near the closing bell on the Milan stock exchange, while Manchester United was 9.6 percent higher in late morning trading in New York, where its shares are listed.

Elsewhere on markets, bitcoin steadied around $55,000 after diving more than 15 percent at one point over the weekend after reports that the US Treasury could crack down on digital money laundering, according to NAB analyst Rodrigo Catril.

Bitcoin hit a record high above $62,000 last week ahead of the Wall Street debut of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, despite concerns about a bubble and the sustainability of the digital currency market.

Bahrain’s national airline Gulf Air announced Sunday that it will begin offering direct flights between Manama and Tel Aviv on June 3.

Economy class tickets are expected to cost around $299 per seat, the airline said. Israeli airlines are also expected to establish routes to Bahrain soon.

The flights are the latest in a series of moves linking Israel closer to the Gulf since the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain established full diplomatic relations with the Jewish state under the Abraham Accords, a pact brokered under former US president Donald Trump.

Morocco and Sudan have normalized ties as well.

The UAE’s Flydubai and Etihad have since started flying to Tel Aviv, while Israel’s El Al and Arkia are also flying the route.

The agreements broke with the longstanding Arab notion that there should be no normalization with Israel until it reaches a comprehensive peace deal with the Palestinians.