Yusuf Bello| The House Representatives on Tuesday summoned the Minister of Culture and Information, Lai Mohammed over the suspension of Twitter operations in Nigeria by the Federal Government.
The Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, in his speech at plenary directed the House Committees on Justice, Commerce, and Information to investigate the process that led to the suspension of the microblogging site.
According to him, the green chamber has been “inundated with comments about the decision, requests for intervention and criticism”.
“The House of Representatives recognises that Twitter, like other social media networks, is an important tool for communication and commerce in Nigeria, particularly amongst the younger generation who have used these networks for enterprise and innovation with great success,” he said.
“It is in service of our obligations under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and our moral duty to the Nigerian people, that the leadership of the House has decided to mandate the House Committees on Communication, Justice, Information, and Culture, and National Security and Intelligence to immediately commence an investigation to determine the circumstances of the decision by the Federal Government of Nigeria to suspend the operations of Twitter in Nigeria, and the legal authority for the ban on the operations of Twitter in Nigeria.
“The Committees are additionally mandated to invite the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed to brief the House of Representatives on the objectives, intent, and duration of the suspension on the operations of Twitter in Nigeria, and to report to the House within ten days.”
Gbajabiamila said the report of the committee will guide “further action by the house of representatives” on the suspension of the social media platform.
“Therefore, I urge the committees to act with speed and sound judgment to address this issue that has animated our national conversations over the last few days,” he said.
While the deliberation was ongoing, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmakers walked out after its caucus leader, Kingsley Chinda was ruled out of order by the Speaker amid the rowdy session.
Mr. Chinda had prayed the House to urge the Federal Government to suspend the ban while the House investigation is ongoing as directed by the Speaker.
This comes after the Federal Government of Nigeria had last week announced the indefinite suspension of Twitter in the country.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed while announcing the suspension cited the persistent use of the platform for activities that are “capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.”
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