By 
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has urged the Federal Government to reverse its decision to suspend the operation of Twitter in Nigeria.
The Nigerian government announced the suspension of the micro blogging site in Nigeria two days after a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari on the 1967 civil war was deleted by the platform for violating its rules.
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“Twitter has become the platform for young people and indeed all Nigerians to exercise their fundamental right to express and publish an opinion…. It has become a source of livelihood for many, irrespective of their political affiliations or religious leanings,”Makinde expressed in an official statement published today in Ibadan, capital of Oyo.
Adding: “I believe the Federal Government should be actively interested in how certain policies and action will affect investor confidence.”
Read his full statement on the suspension of Twitter’s operations below.
It has become imperative for me to release a statement regarding the suspension of Twitter’s operations in Nigeria by the Federal Government.
As leaders, we should go beyond emotional reactions to issues and think about how our actions will affect the people we lead and our international ratings socially and economically.
Twitter has become the platform for young people and indeed all Nigerians to exercise their fundamental right to express and publish an opinion.
They use the platform to complain, argue and give feedback to government and its agencies who in turn, use these to improve policies. This is a fundamental point that should be kept in mind as we debate the necessity of this suspension.
We should also remember that Twitter has gone beyond a source of communication for many of our hardworking youths in Nigeria. It has become a source of livelihood for many, irrespective of their political affiliations or religious leanings.
Nigerian youths and digital communications organisations earn a living from being able to use the platform to post communications on behalf of their clients.
Others who may not have physical stores also rely on Twitter to give visibility to their products and services.
Furthermore, I believe the Federal Government should be actively interested in how certain policies and action will affect investor confidence.
I, therefore, use this medium to appeal to the Federal Government to reverse this suspension for the greater good of Nigerians.
