The Federal Government of Nigeria has lifted the ban it placed on Twitter operation in the country. With the lifting of the Twitter ban, Nigerians can now use the micro-blogging app unfettered.
According to a statement issued by the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Kashifu Inuwa, the lifting which takes effect from 12 am on Wednesday, January 13, 2022, was approved by President Muhammadu Buhari.
With this development, many Nigerians that have been using Virtual Private Network (VPN) to access the service will now be able to use it directly. Also, many businesses that had left the platform in keeping with the government’s directive can now resume their engagement and marketing activities on the site.
Kashifu stated that the lifting of the ban was as a result of a memo written to the President by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Pantami. “In the Memo, the Minister updated and requests the President’s approval for the lifting based on the Technical Committee Nigeria-Twitter Engagement’s recommendation.
“You may recall that on 5th June 2021, the FGN suspended the operation of Twitter through an announcement made by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alh Lai Mohammed. After the suspension, President Muhammadu Buhari.constituted a seven-man Presidential Committee to engage Twitter Inc.,” Kashifu said.
While appreciating all Nigerians, especially the vibrant Nigerian youths who have borne with the long wait to resolve this impasse, Kashifu said: “The FGN is happy to say that the gains made from this shared national sacrifice are immeasurable.”
According to him, some of the gains include “ongoing economic and training opportunities as the Company continues to consider expanding its presence in Nigeria; Getting a better understanding of how to use the Twitter platform effectively to improve businesses; Revenue generation from the operation of Twitter in Nigeria; Smooth and coordinated relationship between Nigerian Government and Twitter leading to mutual trust; Reduction of cybercriminal activities such as terrorism, cyberstalking, hate speech, etc.; and Working with Twitter and other global companies to build an acceptable code of conduct following the global best practice.
He said the FGN has asked Twitter to fulfil some conditions before restoring its services. “These conditions addressed legal registration of operations, taxation, and managing prohibited publication in line with Nigerian laws. Twitter has agreed to meet all the conditions set by the FGN. Consequently, the FGN and Twitter have decided on an execution timeline, which has started this week. Our engagement with Twitter opens a new chapter in global digital diplomacy and sets a new operational template for Twitter to come back stronger for the benefit of Nigerians,” the NITDA DG said.
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