ABUJA — Signifying the probable end of a widely condemned policy, the Federal Government has said the ban on Twitter will be lifted after settling its scores with the American microblogging site.
Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed announced this while speaking with the State House correspondents on Wednesday.
He stated that while the process can last days or weeks, a positive result and conclusion can be anticipated.
This announcement is coming exactly 66 days after the federal government had restricted the use of Twitter in the country.
FG had placed the ban two days after the networking service removed a post from President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish regional secessionists.
“The ban on Twitter will soon be lifted as we are getting close to reaching full agreement. We have agreed on some areas. Hopefully in the next few days or weeks, we will conclude,” Muhammed told the reporters.
He disclosed that both parties had reached a consensus in their conversations even on the proposal of a Nigerian Twitter office which had been an outstanding issue.
“One of the conditions that we set was that Twitter, in line with Nigeria’s Companies and Allied Matters Act, should establish a presence in Nigeria with registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission. We believe that it’s important that Twitter should have a company representative who is high up so that he/she can take complaints directly from Nigeria to Twitter. We also asked that, in addition to registering the Nigerian company, Twitter must also register with relevant regulatory authorities like NIPDA, like NCC, broadcasting commission,” he said.
Twitter however, maintained that the earliest possible date of an office establishment was 2022.
Twitter ban in Nigeria
On June 4, the government had suspended the use of the microblogging site in the country after the platform deleted one of his tweets and temporarily deleted his account.
In the tweet, the president referred to secessionists and to “those who misbehave today”, promising to treat them in “the language they will understand.”
The tweet infringed on Twitter user rules prohibiting content that threatens or incites violence.
However, Information Minister Lai Mohammed said the government only acted as a result of the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.
“We have a country to rule and we will do so to the best of our ability. Twitter’s mission in Nigeria is very suspect, they have an agenda.
“The mission of Twitter in Nigeria is very suspicious. Has Twitter deleted the violent tweets that Nnamdi Kanu has been sending? Has it? The same Twitter during the ENDSARS protests that were funding ENDSARS protesters, it was the first to close the account of the former president of the US, Trump,” he said.
The ban drew heavy criticism from citizens and groups as many took to the social media platform itself to express their displeasure.
Social media users swiftly inundated Twitter to convey their outrage and disappointment toward the move. Some Nigerian civil society groups and the U.S. government even sued the government over it.
Despite the ban, many Nigerians still have access to the site using virtual private networks (VPN).
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