Twitter Negotiated With FG, Minister Clarifies

Twitter Negotiated With FG, Minister Clarifies

Federal Government, yesterday, refuted claims that Twitter did not negotiate with the Nigerian government following the suspension of the microblogging site.

Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, made the clarification yesterday at the presentation of the Buhari administration’s scorecard in Abuja.

The minister called the claim ludicrous and said the government could have simply ignored it if it hadn’t sparked speculation.

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

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“Seven days after the suspension, precisely on June 11, 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 the extensive negotiation. A copy of that letter is displayed on the screens here and will be made available to gentlemen of the press.”

He stated that following the letter, the Federal Government formed a team to meet with Twitter. The team was led by the Minister of Information and Culture and included the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, as well as the Ministers of Communications and Digital Economy. Others were Foreign Affairs, Works and Housing , Labour and Employment ministers. It also included the National Intelligence Agency’s Director General.

Following the formation of the Federal Government team, another letter was received from a group called Albright Stonebridge Group, which was working on Twitter’s behalf.

“The letter named the Twitter team to enter into discussion with Nigeria. The team was headed by Twitter’s Vice President, Sinead Sweeney. The back-and-forth negotiation culminated in series of agreements that paved the way for the lifting of the Twitter suspension in January this year.

“Gentlemen, with the facts that we have supplied, you can now see that the fellow, who reportedly alleged that Twitter did not negotiate with Nigeria is either being economical with the truth or didn’t even understand the workings of the company where he worked,” the minister stated.