Twitter has been banned in Nigeria since June 4
ABUJA, June 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nigeria president Muhammadu Buhari has instructed a team of ministers to dialogue with Twitter, the global microblogging site which was banned in the country earlier this month.
The Federal Government’s June 4 indefinite suspension said the platform was being used for actions that threatened the cooperate existence of Africa’s most populous nation.
The new development was contained in a statement on Tuesday issued by Information and Culture minister, Lai Mohammed, who confirmed that a team had been set up to dialogue with Twitter.
The Ministers involved are Works and Housing Minister, Babatunde Raji Fashola, Attornery General of the Federation Abubakar Malami, Communication and Digital Economy Minister Isa Ali Pantami, Labour Minister Chris Ngige and Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the composition of the Federal
Government’s team to engage with Twitter over the recent suspension of
the operations of the microblogging and social networking service in
Nigeria.
“Following the indefinite suspension of its operations in Nigeria, for
activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate
existence, Twitter wrote to President Buhari seeking to engage with
the Federal Government over the suspension, with a view to charting a
path forward,” Mohammed said in a statement Segun Adeyemi, his spokesman, issued on his behalf.
Despite threats that government will prosecute persons who tweeted despite the ban, many Nigerians turned to use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to access the platform.
A number of media outfits also continued using Twitter despite a directive by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to deactivate their Twitter accounts.
Abuja holds that all social media companies must register as businesses in Nigeria with Twitter has previously stated its readiness to engage government. — NNN-AGENCIES
