The House of Representatives has resolved to give the federal government time to negotiate with Twitter over the suspension of the microblogging site from operating in Nigeria.
The lower chamber made the resolution, following the adoption of the report of the Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Value, Telecommunication, Information Technology, Justice, and National Security and Intelligence, on the ban.
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Segun Odebunmi (APC, Osun), the chairman of the committee on information, national orientation, ethics, and value, presented the report, which was adopted by the Committee of the Whole.
The adopted recommendations are as follows:
-That time be allowed for the Federal Government of Nigeria and Twitter to enter into the dialogue process that is already ongoing, so as to create room for amicable settlement on the matter.
-That relevant Government Institutions such as National Broadcasting Commission, Nigeria Communication Satellite, etc. should be alive to their mandate by doing the proper thing to avoid future occurrences of this nature.
-That the Federal Government should take into cognisance the negative effect of Twitter’s suspension on Nigerians who depend on the platform for their livelihood
-That Federal Government should be proactive in its interface with Twitter so as to come up with a timely resolution on the matter
-That Freedom of expression is not absolute anywhere in the world. This is because security and freedom of expression sometimes present contending interests. Therefore, national security must be guaranteed at all times as much as the right to free speech must be protected. That Government should always have communicated better with Nigerians when critical decisions are to be made.
The government announced the ban on the microblogging site on June 4. According to the government, the ban was due to threats to national security.
Following the outcry, the House on June 8 mandated the joint committee to investigate the ban. Mr. Mohammed appeared before the committee and gave the position of the government.
The government recently announced the composition of a team that will meet with Twitter on the ban.
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