Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, says the federal government negotiated with Twitter to lift the suspension of its operations in the country.
Mohammed said the clarification became necessary to counter a report which quoted a former Twitter employee as claiming there were no negotiations before the seven-month ban was lifted.
In June 2021, the federal government announced the indefinite suspension of Twitter’s operation after the platform deleted tweets made by President Muhammadu Buhari, who had threatened to treat members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the “language they understand”.
While speaking on Monday at the 13th edition of the administration’s scorecard in Abuja on Monday, the minister said there “was a long-drawn negotiation between Nigeria and Twitter, at the instance of the latter”.
“Seven days after the suspension, precisely on June 11th 2021, we received a letter, addressed to Mr. President, from Twitter’s vice-president in charge of public policy, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Sinead McSweeney, seeking to meet with us on the Twitter suspension,” he said.
“That letter kick-started a number of activities that culminated in the extensive negotiation. A copy of that letter is displayed on the screens here and will be made available to gentlemen of the press.
“After the letter, the federal government announced its team to discuss with Twitter.
“The team, chaired by the minister of information and culture, also comprised the...
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