Following the approval given by President Muhammadu Buhari, the Federal Government has lifted the suspension of Twitter operations in Nigeria effective from Thursday 12 midnight.
The Chairman Technical Committee Nigeria-Twitter Engagement and Director-General National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, disclosed this in statement Wednesday.
He explained that the approval was given following a memo written to the President by Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim.
“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 updates and requests the President’s approval for the lifting based on the Technical Committee Nigeria-Twitter Engagement’s recommendation,” the statement said.
Recall that on 5th June 2021, Nigerian government suspended the operation of Twitter through an announcement made by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alh Lai Mohammed.
The statement said the immediate and remote cause of the suspension was the unceasing use of the platform by some unscrupulous elements for subversive purposes and criminal activities, propagating fake news, and polarising Nigerians along tribal and religious lines, among others.
“These issues bordering on National Security, Cohesion and the effects of the abuse of the Twitter platform forced the FGN to suspend the operation of Twitter to address the direct and collateral issues around its operations in Nigeria.