FG set to lift Twitter suspension

The Federal Government says its two-month suspension of the operations of micro-blogging site, Twitter, in Nigeria will soon be lifted in the next few days or weeks.

Minister of Information and Culture, Lal Mohammed, who announced this on Wednesday, said it follows the substantial compliance with demands made by government to the owners of the platform.

The government had on June 5, 2021, indefinitely suspended Twitter in Nigeria after the social media platform deleted tweets made by the President Muhammadu Buhari in which he threatened bloody action against the separatist Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

The government had claimed that the deletion of the President’s tweets was based on “a litany of problems with the social media platform in Nigeria, where misinformation and fake news spread through it have had real world violent consequences”.

Asked to give update on the face-off, Mohammed told State House Correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, that progress had been made in resolving the impasse.

He said the conditions given to the platform had largely been accepted by Twitter following series of meetings with a government.

Mohammed said however, that the areas still pending such as Twitter setting up an office, and having a Twitter staff of management cadre that will serve as the country representative, are still being discussed.

He revealed that in the area of a Nigerian office, even though Twitter has agreed to the condition, it is however maintained that the earliest it can establish it is 2022.

The Minister expressed confidence that everything will be ironed out with Twitter within a few days or weeks, noting the anxiety that has been shown by Nigerians.

He said the Federal Government’s committee negotiating with Twitter will meet on the agreement soon to make recommendations, that may lead to lifting the suspension.