The Federal Government has said Twitter has agreed to set up a Nigerian office in 2022.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who disclosed this on Wednesday while answering questions from State House correspondents after a meeting of the Federal Executive Council, added that the over two-month ban on the social microblogging site will soon be lifted.
Mohammed said the Nigerian government had reached an agreement with Twitter in most areas of misunderstanding.
Recall that the Federal Government banned Twitter on June 5, 2021, after it deleted tweets made by President Muhammadu Buhari warning the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The Minister stressed that the Federal Government’s committee negotiating with Twitter would meet on the agreement soon to make recommendations.
He said, “I want to say that the end for an amicable solution is very much in sight.
“We quite appreciate the anxiety of Nigerians, I just want to assure you that we have made tremendous progress.
“As a matter of fact, is to the credit of Twitter that they admitted that they’ve never received any kind of informed or detailed communication from any country as they have received from us. Not only did they promise that they were going to look into it, but we made very clear what we wanted from Twitter.
“One of the conditions that we set was that Twitter, in line with Nigeria’s Companies and Allied Matters Act, should establish a presence in Nigeria with registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission.
“We also asked that Twitter shall be mandated to employ a designated country representative. We also asked Twitter to register with relevant regulatory authorities like NIPDA, like NCC, broadcasting commission.”
The minister added that the Federal Government also asked Twitter to commit itself to working with the Federal Inland Revenue Service saying, “If you make money from Nigeria, you pay taxes according to Nigeria laws.”
