Isa Ali Pantami

Pantami is a Jumu'ah Chief Imam who has been leading the Jumu'ah prayer for over 20 years in both Nigeria and the United Kingdom. He serves as a Member of Shari'ah Board of Jaiz Bank. He is also a Shurah member and Deputy Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Shari'ah (SCS) in Nigeria. He was educated in Islam by scholars including Muhammad Umar Fallatah, Muhammad ibn al Uthaymeen and Abdulmuhsin ibne Abbad. He also is the Chairman of Board of Trustees of Al’Hudah Islamiyyah & Mosque Foundation, and a member/secretary of Bauchi State Elders Advisory Committee and Bauchi state National Qur’anic Competition Committee among other committees. He had debated with Mohammed Yusuf, the leader of Boko Haram, against Salafism in 2008.

Pantami is an author of books on ICT, STEM, technology, politics & community reconciliation, religion and peaceful coexistence, as well as some publications in international journals, including International Journal of Innovative Research in Engineering and Management (IJIREM), Macrotheme Review, and International Journal of Computer & Information Technology. Religious books authored by him include Islam and Politics, Synonimity or Dichotomy?, The Essentials of Marriage in Establishing An Ideal Family, Month of The Qur’an & Its Virtues, and 63 Steps of Performing an Acceptable Hajji and Its Spiritual and Moral Lesson.

Pantami received an award as the "ICT Promoter of the Year 2017" in London by The Nigerian in recognition of "positive contributions to the ICT revolution in Nigeria, youth empowerment & good governance". Within little less than 3 years of his stewardship, he has received over 110 awards and recognitions both within and outside Nigeria.

In June 2017, rumor spread in Nigeria that Pantami has led the conversion of Solomon Dalung, the Minister of Youths and Sports, from Christianity to Islam at the an-Noor Mosque Abuja, Nigeria. The rumor was protested by both Pantami and Dalung. There have been allegations that Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was investigating the 2017 spending of NITDA, though Pantami and Adebayo Shittu, the Minister of Communications, claimed that no such investigation happened.

Pantami lectured at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University in Information Technology before joining the Islamic University of Madinah as Head of Technical Writing in 2014. In 2016, he was appointed as the Director General/CEO of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). He was confirmed by President Muhammadu Buhari as part of 13 newly appointed chief executives for 13 government agencies. His directive for NITDA upon employment was to develop the ICT infrastructure in the North East in the aftermath of the destruction caused by Boko Haram insurgency. Shortly after the WannaCry ransomware attack, he organized the second annual conference on "Financial Fraud and Cyber Crime" in Abuja with the Federal Ministry of Justice and private sector partners. He also initiated the Nigerian national public key infrastructure (PKI) programme, and went into a security partnership with ESET, an IT security company that offers anti-virus and firewall products.

Isa Ali Ibrahim also known as Sheikh Pantami (born 20 October, 1972) is the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy in Nigeria. He was the Director General and CEO of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) of Nigeria from 26 September 2016 – 20 August 2019 when he was nominated as minister and sworn into office on the 21st of August, 2019. In February 2020, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau in a nine minute video announced that he had instructed his men to target and kill Pantami for introducing a policy that seeks to block SIM cards to frustrate terrorists activities.

Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) was born on 20 October 1972 in Gombe State, Nigeria. His mother was Hajiya Amina Umar Aliyu and his father was Alhaji Ali Ibrahim Pantami. He started his education by attending traditional School for memorizing the Qur'an, called "Tsangaya School." He spent more than four years in the school. He later joined primary school in Pantami. He attended Government Science Secondary School in Gombe. After his secondary education, he spent additional two years seeking for more religious knowledge before moving to university. He studied Computer Science at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University in Bauchi, Nigeria, gaining a BTech in 2003 Session and an MSc in 2008, before obtaining a PhD from Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland. He spent his life pursuing both formal and informal education, by switching from one form to another.