Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to reverse the decision to ban the operation of Twitter in Nigeria.
Makinde in a statement on Saturday, noted that leaders should “go beyond emotional reactions to issues” and explained how the ban would affect the economy of young people in the country.
“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 the 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 actions 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,” the statement read.
Since Saturday morning, most Nigerians could not access the microblogging platform.
Some have however resorted to the use of Virtual Private Network (VPN) to gain access to their accounts.
