Nigeria’s Twitter Ban Will Soon Be Lifted Information Minister Says
Aug. 12, 2021, 3:42 p.m.
On Wednesday 11th of August, Nigeria’s Information Minister Lai Mohammed disclosed that the Twitter ban will soon be lifted.
The disclosure was made during a briefing with State House correspondents at the end of the virtual Federal Executive Council, FEC; a meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, in Abuja.
"The ban on Twitter will soon be lifted as we are getting close to reaching full agreement," Mohammed told reporters after a cabinet meeting. "We have agreed on some areas. Hopefully in the next few days or weeks we will conclude."
The Information Minister said interactions with Twitter have been very positive and the Federal government has made their expectations of the platform very clear. He also added that agreements have been reached with the microblogging platform in all areas except 3.
‘We appreciate the patience of Nigerians. I want to assure you that we have made very tremendous progress. We have met with Twitter both physically and in writing. We are actually almost there. Alhaji Lai Mohammed said.
Twitter’s spokesperson also said, "we recently met with the Nigerian government to discuss why Twitter has been blocked and ways to resolve the matter. Our aim is to chart a path forward to the restoration of Twitter for everyone in Nigeria. We look forward to ongoing discussions with the Nigerian government and seeing the service restored very soon."
Some of the conditions made by the Nigerian Government before Twitter operations can resume in Nigeria include the appointment of a Country Representative that will serve as a liaison. The company must also register with relevant regulatory agencies, including the NCC.
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The government is also demanding that Twitter commits itself to the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS. Twitter should establish a legal presence in the country, register as a Nigerian company with an address.
The information minister revealed that the company has agreed to open an office in Nigeria in the briefing. However, there are still deliberating on when the office will be set up, with the microblogging platform saying the earliest it can establish an office in the country will be in 2022.
The Twitter ban took effect in June after the tech company took down president Muhammadu Buhari’s comment as it said the post violated the platform rules. In the post, Buhari referred to the 1967-70 civil war, during which he served in the Nigerian army as it battled southeastern secessionists. Talking about modern-day secessionists in the same region, he said he would "treat them in the language they understand".
But Twitter's decision did not go down well with the Nigerian government, which imposed a ban on using the platform.
The ban caused the country to lose over $366.9 million and around 104.4 million internet users were affected according to Top10VPN, a British IT firm.
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Verny loves to write poetry, fiction and quotes. Her love for writing landed her in journalism. She loves gadgets and travelling to explore new places.