Nigeria to lift Twitter Ban in a few days – Information Minister
The federal government of Nigeria has on Wednesday said the ban on Twitter will soon be lifted. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, disclosed this in a media briefing with State House correspondents at the end of the virtual Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, in Abuja.
The Information Minister said interactions with Twitter has been very positive and the Federal government has made their expectations of the platform very clear. He also added that agreements have been reached with the microblogging platform in all areas except 3.
Some of the conditions made by the Nigerian Government before Twitter operations can resume in Nigeria include the appointment of a Country Representative that will serve as a liaison. The company must also register with relevant regulatory agencies, including the NCC.
The government is also demanding that Twitter commits itself to the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS. Twitter should establish a legal presence in the country, register as a Nigerian company with an address.
The information minister revealed that the company has agreed to open an office in Nigeria in the briefing. However, there are still deliberating on when the office will be set up, with the microblogging platform saying the earliest it can establish an office in the country will be in 2022.
‘We appreciate the patience of Nigerians. I want to assure you that we have made very tremendous progress. We have met with Twitter both physically and in writing. We are actually almost there. Alhaji Lai Mohammed said.
Recall that the Nigerian government banned Twitter in the country after the microblogging platform deleted the president’s tweet about two months ago.
So far, the ban has cost the country over $366.9 million and has affected around 104.4 million internet users in the country according to Top10VPN, a British IT firm.
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