Tolu Ogunlesi, special assistant on digital/new media to President Muhammadu Buhari, has described the ban on Twitter in Nigeria as a win-win situation for the country and the microblogging site.
The federal government had, in June, suspended the operations of Twitter indefinitely two days after Twitter deleted Buhari’s tweet wherein he threatened to treat Nigerians causing violence in Nigeria in “the language they understand”.
The Presidency said it suspended Twitter over“persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence”.
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Speaking on Wednesday, in an interview on Cable News Network (CNN), Ogunlesi said: “The ban is a win-win for Twitter and the government of Nigeria; that’s the view I get from the negotiations and I am happy about that,”
“We are indeed very close to a resolution and you know one thing I must say is that the media seems to often paint a picture of some sort of adversarial negotiation or contest of sorts, but it has been a very amicable, very positive conversation.
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“I think both sides have benefited from listening to each other and then sharing their views, and I think we are very close. During the Independence Day speech of the president on the 1st of October, he did actually say he’s approved the lifting of the ban as long as the ministerial committee set up is happy that the conditions that have been outlined have been fulfilled by Twitter. So, we are very close, no doubt about that.
“I look at the conditions from short term, medium and long term. For example, with taxation, the condition is not that you must start paying taxes. The condition is that you must commit to having a conversation with the tax authorities about paying taxes. It’s not an insistence on paying taxes today; it’s more about commitment and timelines.”
