By Leshi Adebayo
President Muhammadu Buhari has announced that he had directed a conditional lifting of the ban placed on the operations of Twitter in Nigeria.
He disclosed this during the annual nationwide broadcast to Nigerians, to mark the nation’s 61st independence, on Friday.
The President, recognizing Twitter as a very useful platform, regretted that some users have misused the platform to propagate fake news, and promote ethnic and religious sentiments.
Buhari said, “Social media is a very useful platform that has enabled millions of Nigerians to connect with loved ones, promote their businesses, socialise, and access news and other information.
“However, recent events have proved that the platform is not just an innocuous platform for information dissemination.
“To address these negative trends, the Federal Government of Nigeria suspended the operations of Twitter in Nigeria on June 5, 2021 to allow the Government put measures in place to address these challenges.
“Following the suspension of Twitter operations, Twitter Inc. reached out to the Federal Government of Nigeria to resolve the impasse. Subsequently, I constituted a Presidential Committee to engage Twitter to explore the possibility of resolving the issue.”
He directed that the suspension of Twitter be lifted but only if the conditions by presidential committee are met.
The President said, “The Committee, along with its Technical Team, has engaged with Twitter and have addressed a number of key issues. These are National Security and Cohesion; Registration, Physical presence and Representation; Fair Taxation; Dispute Resolution; and Local Content.”
“Following the extensive engagements, the issues are being addressed and I have directed that the suspension be lifted but only if the conditions are met to allow our citizens to continue the use of the platform for business and positive engagements.”
Buhari added that Nigeria as a country is committed to ensuring that digital companies use their platform to enhance the lives of its citizens, respect Nigeria’s sovereignty and cultural values.
