THE Nigerian government is meeting with envoys of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union in Nigeria over their joint statement on the suspension of Twitter, a social media platform in the country.
Head of Crisis Monitoring and Public Communications Division of the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kimiebi Ebienfa made this known in an invitation to newsmen in Abuja on Monday.
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Twitter ban: Nigerian govt meets US, UK, EU envoys over joint statement
According to the statement, the meeting would take place by 12 noon on Monday at the Minister’s Conference Room, 8th Floor of the ministry.
“I am directed to inform that following the recent ban on Twitter by the Federal Government and Press Statement issued by some Heads of Diplomatic Missions Accredited to Nigeria on the subject matter, the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency, Geoffrey Onyeama has invited the affected Ambassadors to a meeting today at 12 noon,” it said.
The diplomatic missions had, in a joint statement on Saturday, condemned the ban on Twitter by the Nigerian government. They also decried the move by President Buhari’s administration to gag free speech which, according to them, was not associated with democratic governance.
But the diplomatic missions noted that the move was coming at a critical time when Nigeria needed to accommodate more communication to address a host of challenges facing it as a nation.
“These measures inhibit access to information and commerce at precisely the moment when Nigeria needs to foster inclusive dialogue and expression of opinions, as well as share vital information in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic,” they said.
The diplomatic missions, however, pledged to continually support Nigeria in achieving unity, peace and prosperity.
“The path to a more secure Nigeria lies in more, not less, communication to accompany the concerted efforts of Nigeria’s citizens in fulsome dialogue toward unity, peace and prosperity. As Nigeria’s partners, we stand ready to assist in achieving these goals.”
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