Richard Ginika Izuora
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has said that Twitter has agreed to laid down criteria to enable it operate in Nigeria.
Twitter, Mohammed said in reaction to its return to operate in Nigeria that it will get registered to allow for effective monitoring as well as pay tax as it rakes in billions of naira from its operations.
The federal government suspended Twitter on June 4 after it removed a post from President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish regional secessionists.
Telecoms companies subsequently blocked access to users in Nigeria.
But after long negotiations government announced that it has lifted the ban on Twitter from midnight after the social media platform agreed to open a local office, among other agreements with authorities in the country.
Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director General, DG, of the National Information Technology Development Agency said in a statement that Buhari had given approval to lift the suspension.
“Twitter has agreed to act with a respectful acknowledgement of Nigerian laws and the national culture and history on which such legislation has been built…,” Abdullahi’s statement said.
The company would work with the federal government and the broader industry “to develop a Code of Conduct in line with global best practices, applicable in almost all developed countries,” it said.
“Therefore, the (federal government) lifts the suspension of the Twitter operations in Nigeria from midnight of 13th January 2022.”
Abdullahi, who also chaired a joint technical committee of Nigerian and Twitter officials, said the U.S. company agreed to appoint a country representative to engage with Nigerian authorities and comply with local tax obligations.