THE federal government has announced the setting up of a powerful committee made up of five cabinet ministers to negotiate with Twitter two weeks after it was banned from operating in Nigeria, a statement from the Minister of Information and Culture stated on Tuesday.
Twitter’s ban followed its deletion of a tweet by President Buhari, although the government said its action was because the social media platform’s activities were against the interest of Nigeria. Many Nigerians, especially from the human rights community, see and condemned the ban as an attack on the freedom of expression.
The statement, signed by Segun Adeyemi, Special Assistant to the President (Media), Office of the Minister of Information and Culture, reads:
“President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the composition of the Federal Government’s Team to engage with Twitter over the recent suspension of the operations of the microblogging and social networking service in Nigeria.
“The approval was announced in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who will chair the team.
“The Federal Government’s team also comprises the Attorney General of the Federation and Honourable Minister of Justice, Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Honourable Minister of Works and Housing, Honourable Minister of State for Labour and Employment as well as other relevant government agencies.
“Following the indefinite suspension of its operations in Nigeria, for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence, Twitter wrote to President Buhari seeking to engage with the Federal Government over the suspension, with a view to charting a path forward.”
