US government reacts as Buhari lifts ban on Twitter in Nigeria

The United States government has reacted to Nigeria’s federal government’s decision to lift the ban on Twitter operations in the country.

Speaking through a statement on Thursday by the US mission in Nigeria, the American government welcomed the decision to restore Twitter services in the West African nation.

It added that it looks forward to further engaging the citizens on the micro-blogging app for information sharing and economic growth.

The US mission tweeted: “We welcome the restoration of Twitter’s services by @NigeriaGov. Social media remains a vital tool for expression, information sharing, and economic growth.”

“We are pleased that access for Nigerians is #BackOn & look forward to continuing to engage and grow with you here.”

Recall that the federal government on Wednesday said President Muhammadu Buhari has given approval for the suspension on Twitter operations in Nigeria to be lifted.

The president’s directive was made public in a statement on Wednesday by the Chairman Technical Committee Nigeria-Twitter Engagement and Director-General National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi.

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According to the statement, the lifting of the suspension on Twitter operations in Nigeria will be effective from 12 am 13th January 2022.

Abdullahi explained that the approval was granted after a memo written to the President by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami.

The Buhari government had in June 2021, suspended the operations of Twitter in Nigeria after it claimed the platform was been used to undermine the sovereignty and security of the nation.

The service was restored after agreements were reached between the government and the organization on the agreed mode of operations.