Nigeria to lift Twitter ban soon-Lai Mohammed
FG lifts Twitter ban from midnight, government official says
Nigeria will lift a ban on Twitter (TWTR.N) from midnight after the social media platform agreed to open a local office, among other agreements, with the Federal Government , a senior government official said on Wednesday.
The government announced the suspension of the social media platform in June, 2021, after it deleted a controversial tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari. The government also accused Twitter of working against Nigeria’s interest.
The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Abdullahi, who announced the lifting of the suspension in a statement, was involved in the Nigerian government’s negotiation with Twitter.
He said “the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) directs me to inform the public that President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has approved the lifting of the suspension of Twitter operation in Nigeria effective from 12am tonight, 13th January 2022.
“The approval was given following a memo written to the President by the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim.
“In the Memo, the Minister updated and requested the President’s approval for the lifting based on the Technical Committee Nigeria-Twitter Engagement’s recommendation.”
Since the suspension, millions of Twitter users have been unable to use the social media platform in Nigeria unless they use a Virtual Private Network.
Details later…
