Breaking: No Condition for Lifting of Twitter Ban Was Given, FG Makes Clarifications
- The federal government has denied the report that said that it gave condition for lifting the ban on Twitter
- Ferdinand Nwonye, the spokesperson of the ministry of foreign affairs, made the denial in a statement he issued on Monday, June 7, in Abuja
- Nwonye clarified that the minister of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, who met with some envoys on the matter, was misquoted by the media
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FCT, Abuja - The ministry of foreign affairs on Monday, June 7, said that the federal government has not listed condition to lift the suspension of microblogging site Twitter in the country.
Legit.ng reports that this was contained in a statement signed by the ministry’s spokesperson, Ferdinand Nwonye.
Source: UGC
No condition was given on Twitter ban
The statement was titled, ‘Clarification of comments by the honourable minister of foreign affairs at his meeting with envoys.’
Nwonye noted that the minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, met with the envoys of the United States, United Kingdom, the European Union, the Republic of Ireland and Canada on Monday in Abuja over their recent comments on the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria.
He added that the five entities had co-signed a statement on Saturday, June 5, condemning Twitter suspension in Nigeria and describing it as a violation of the right of expression.
Nwonye said:
“This statement by the honourable minister has been quoted out of context. Contrary to the publications, the Honourable Minister was speaking generally about the responsibilities that go with freedom of speech, stating that platforms that have the power to instantly disseminate information among billions of people have the added responsibility to exercise that power responsibly.
“The ministry wishes to state categorically that the Honourable Minister did not give any conditions regarding lifting the Twitter suspension."
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FG meets US, UK, others over ban on Twitter
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that the federal government, in a meeting convened by the minister of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, on Monday, June 7, gave the only condition on which it would end the ban on Twitter in Nigeria.
It was reported that Onyeama, who spoke with foreign diplomats in Abuja said for the President Buhari-led administration, the condition would be the responsible use of the app in the country.
The minister, to make the record straight, the government is not saying that Twitter is threatening Nigeria, but that the site should not be used to destabilise the government or cause tension.
Source: Legit.ng
