Why Ban Is a Win-Win For Nigeria and Twitter, Presidential Aide Shares Crucial Details

• Tolu Ogunlesi, a presidential aide has disclosed the gains of the Twitter ban a few days after it was lifted conditionally by the federal government
• According to Ogunlesi, the ban was beneficial for both the government and Twitter, noting negotiations is still on
• He hinted further that the conversations between Nigeria and Twitter have been a peaceful one, adding that it’s almost a done deal

Recently, President Muhammadu Buhari approved a conditional lifting of the ban on microblogging giant Twitter, to celebrate Nigeria’s 61st anniversary, and this stirred reactions at home and abroad.

But a presidential aide, Tolu Ogunlesi, has said that the Twitter ban is a win-win for both the government of Nigeria and the US-based social media company.

The Punch reports that Ogunlesi who is part of a team negotiating the terms of Twitter’s return to Nigeria’s cyberspace, made this statement on Wednesday, October 6, during an interview while answering a question regarding his support for the ban.

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Ogunlesi stated further that the committee set up to negotiate with Twitter has made significant progress, noting that the ban would be lifted as soon as the conditions given are met, a report by The Cable also indicate.

He said:

“I think it is a win-win for Twitter and the government of Nigeria. That is the view I get from the negotiations.

“We are very close to a resolution. It has been a peaceful and positive conversation. Both sides have benefitted from listening to each other and sharing their views.”

According to NetBlocks Cost of Shutdown Tool, Nigeria has reportedly lost approximately N272bn since the ban started on June 4.

Meanwhile, Ogunlesi refused to give a straight answer if the ban was triggered by Twitter taking down the president’s tweet for violating its terms of service.

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P.R expert says country to lose more than cash after lifting ban

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that after losing billions of naira, the Federal Government is prepared to allow Jack Dorsey's Twitter to continue operation in the social media's second-largest user-tweet base in Africa.

The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, gave the update stating that the government and Twitter are dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s, and soon, the social networking site will resume full operation.

The shutdown was made officially on June 5, and it has been about 106 days since Nigerians had to start using VPN, which allows some Twitter users to bypass internet restrictions on a network.

Nigerian government to create digital naira after crypto ban

In another development, Twitter isn't the only thing or company on the ban list of the Nigerian government, as it had previously ban cryptocurrency trading in the country.

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Following the ban, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced that it will provide digital currency to Nigerians willing to add virtual assets to their portfolio, but it will be a non-interest bearing asset.

Legit.ng gathered that by October, Nigeria will have its own digital currency, e-Naira, which will be provided by the commercial banks after issuing codes to their customers.

Source: Legit.ng