FG did not ban Twitter, it is only a suspension, APC declares

The National Youth Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ismaeel Ahmed, on Wednesday, declared that the Federal Government did not ban the utilisation of Twitter; it simply suspended its operations.

Ahmed made this known at a press briefing announcing the postponed Progressive Youths Conference now to hold next week.

He said, “The government didn’t ban social media as a lot of people will insinuate. It is very important that we know that because Facebook is still in operation, Instagram is still in operation, WhatsApp is still in operation, and a lot of other social media platforms are still in operation.

“In fact, some people will tell you Twitter is for the elite young people and not necessarily for the general public.

“I think there are far more subscribers on Facebook in Nigeria than there are on Twitter. But having said that, it is still a very important medium for people.

“So, whatever it is that the government felt to suspend Twitter, not even ban, there was a suspension and of course, there is a conversation going on between the government and the representatives of Twitter and I’m sure it will be resolved.”

Ahmed, who is also a member of the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee, also stated while he was personally sad about the suspension of Twitter operations, he experienced no difficulty identifying with the Federal Government for taking the decision because the site went too far by deleting President Buhari’s tweet.

Speaking about the planned meeting, Ahmed stated that President Buhari has agreed to declare open the occasion which will be held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, on Monday, June 21, 2021.