The Nigerian Government has disclosed its plan to lift the ban on Twitter – a social micro blogging platform, after the platform has met the six conditions imposed on it by the Federal Government.
The President, Muhammadu Buhari, awaits report of the Technical Committee constituted by the Federal Government to resolve the impasse between both parties.
Twitter has reportedly complied with all the terms given by the government to allow it to operate its services in the country.
The conditions agreed to by Twitter are to Open an office in Nigeria; have a Country Representative, register with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC); get the National Broadcasting Commission licence; Payment of fair taxes; and Train Nigerian IT personnel and strategic intelligence officers on how to report Twitter abuse /infractions considered sensitive to national security and cohesion.
Twitter also requested that the Federal Government should allow it to defer opening of a Nigerian office till 2022 because there was no provision for it in its 2021 budget.
Although it was reported that Nigerians have lost over N6billion as a result of the ban, it is believed the Federal Government has lost much more by way of revenue.
Another major point of discussion was security matters which, was the last point of negotiation. The two parties agreed on how to report offensive/inflammatory posts that undermine the nation’s security.
The Technical Committee is scrutinizing offers from Twitter, especially reporting line and technical training, before making final recommendations to the President to lift the ban.
