Twitter negotiated with FG on suspension- Lai Mohammed

Mr Lai Mohammed, the Minister for Information and Culture, said yesterday that Twitter had negotiated with the Federal Government regarding the ban.

This happened in Abuja, when he was speaking at the 13th edition of the President Buhari Administration’s Scorecard series. Lai Mohammed described the claim by a former Twitter senior employee that there was no negotiation, ludicrous.

On June 5 2021, the Nigerian government suspended Twitter indefinitely in Nigeria after a tweet from the president was banned. On January 13 2022, the ban was lifted.

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In his words, the minister said, “Without mincing words, let me say that there was a long-drawn negotiation between Nigeria and Twitter, at the instance of the latter, following the suspension of the platform on June 4th, 2021 because of its persistent use for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.

“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. That letter kick-started a number of activities that culminated in extensive negotiation.

Mr. Lai finished, saying it was the back and forth that resulted in lifting the ban. Additionally, he clarified that the news that there was no negotiation was false.