Great News as Twitter Reveals when it Will Establish Office in Nigeria
- Apart from the fact that Twitter will resume its operation in Nigeria, the site will be establishing an office in the country soon
- This was revealed by the minister of communication, Lai Mohammed, on Wednesday, August 11, in Abuja
- Mohammed told State House correspondents that as part of its conditions, Twitter will have to register with the Federal Inland Revenue Service for regular tax payment
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Abuja - The federal government, through the minister of communication, Lai Mohammed, has announced that Twitter will be opening a Nigerian-based office soon.
Mohammed made this known on Wednesday, August 11, while speaking with State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja.
The minister said so far, the government has offered to lift the ban on the site with some conditions, some of which include registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
Punch has it that other conditions are the mandatory employment of a country representative, registration with organisations like NIPDA, NCC, NBC, and commitment to working with the Federal Inland Revenue Service for tax.
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Quoting the minister, Guardian reported:
“I know that one of the conditions that we set was that Twitter, in line with Nigeria’s Companies and Allied Matters Act, should establish a presence in Nigeria with registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission.
“And we think...that if you want to do business in Nigeria, you must register first as a Nigerian company and of course, you must have an address.”
According to Mohammed, Twitter reacted to the condition of establishing a presence in Nigeria by opening an office in 2022.
Mohammed had declared that the suspension of Twitter's operations would be lifted “in a matter of days.” Mohammed gave this update on Wednesday.
The government suspended Twitter on Friday, June 4 after it removed a post from President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish regional secessionists.
Twitter was also accused of allowing its platform to be used for actions threatening Nigeria's corporate existence.
Twitter had reacted to the government's plan to lift the suspension on the operations of the platform in Nigeria.
Twitter spokesperson reacts
Following the minister's statement, Reuters quoted a Twitter spokesperson as saying that the company recently met with the federal government on how to resolve the issues that led to the suspension.
The unnamed spokesperson said:
"Our aim is to chart a path forward to the restoration of Twitter for everyone in Nigeria.
"We look forward to ongoing discussions with the Nigerian government and seeing the service restored very soon."
The Punch also reported the statement of the Twitter spokesperson citing AFP as its source.
Twitter ban: Nigeria lost over N100 billion in 51 days
Meanwhile, a report filed by Legit.ng on Monday, July 26, indicated Nigerians have lost billions of naira due to the Twitter suspension.
The report which was filed 51 days since the restriction of Twitter's operation shows Nigerians lost N111.03 billion between Saturday, June 5 and Monday, July 26, 2021.
For every passing day, Nigeria loses N2.17 billion, according to Netblocks Cost of Shutdown Tools, which uses the classic Free Digital App GDP impact technique to assess a partial internet shutdown where one online platform is disrupted.
Source: Legit.ng
Onyirioha Nnamdi Onyirioha Nnamdi is a graduate of Literature and English Language at the University of Lagos. He is a Politics/Current Affairs Editor who writes on news and political topics for Legit.ng. He brings into his reporting a wealth of experience in creative and analytical writing. Nnamdi has a major interest in local and global politics. He has a professional certificate from Reuters and was awarded the editor with the best listicle for 2021. Contact: 08062988054, o.nnamdi@corp.legit.ng
Nurudeen Lawal (Head of Politics and Current Affairs Desk) Nurudeen Lawal is an AFP-certified journalist with a wealth of experience spanning over 8 years. He received his B/Arts degree in Literature-in-English from OAU. Lawal is the Head of the Politics/CA Desk at Legit.ng, where he applies his expertise to provide incisive coverage of events. He was named the Political Desk Head of the Year (Nigeria Media Nite-Out Award 2023). He is also a certified fact-checker (Dubawa fellowship, 2020). Contact him at lawal.nurudeen@corp.legit.ng or +2347057737768.
