Twitter ban: APC supports FG, tells Nigerians to develop alternative app

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has commended the federal government for banning the operations of Twitter in the country.

This is contained in a statement signed by Sen. John James Akpanudoedehe PhD, National Secretary Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of APC, on Saturday.

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The party said Twitter had continued to operate in a trajectory that is a direct threat to the country’s national security.

“They serially encouraged separatists, arsonists, and glorified terrorists by offering them the platform to spread their terror messages, a situation no responsible government will tolerate, the party stressed.

APC, therefore, urged Nigerians talented in software applications development to seize the opportunity of suspending the operations of Twitter in the country to develop a home-grown application that can equal or even be superior to the suspended foreign application in meeting the needs of Nigerians.

On Friday, the Nigerian government banned Twitter indefinitely in the country after accusing it of bias.

Twitter had deleted President Muhammadu Buhari’s tweet, in which he made a reference to Nigeria’s civil war of 1967 and its implications, in reference to the ongoing confrontation between the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and security agencies, which led to killings in the South-East.

The APC, in the statement, said the country has the talents that could develop an alternative application to Twitter and “liberate the country and other developing countries from the shackles and shameful arrogance that frequently manifests in the way Twitter disdainfully promotes confusion and chaos in the name of freedom of expression” in many countries of the world.

“We at the APC firmly believe that Twitter’s suspension will undoubtedly serve as a positive trigger to unleash the creative potentials of Nigerians in the global digital space.

“This is a challenge to the vibrant youths with such talents.

“They will get support in the exercise from the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy and its agencies as well as the numerous information and Communication Technology (ICT) training and research establishments in the country,” the party said.

According to APC, the recent announcement by the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy that Nigeria would soon start the production of smartphones and Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards for the African market is a piece of evidence that the country has what it takes to make a deep and strong foray into the global ICT industry.

‘FG is right’

“The leadership of the APC hereby puts it on the record that the party and millions of its members, supporters and sympathisers at home and in the diaspora totally support the suspension slammed on Twitter for its continuous support for those who openly call for arson and the killing of security personnel in Nigeria.

“The suspension serves Twitter right and warns other social media tools to toe the line of decency and show respect for their host countries.

“The Federal Government of Nigeria was right in suspending the operations of Twitter in the country for its role in promoting disaffection, derogating the country and its institutions as well allowing divisive elements bent on harming the country to use it as a channel to propagate and legitimise such destructive tendencies.”

It could be recalled that the APC, in April 2021 in a statement, implored Twitter and other social media outlets to curb the dissemination of divisive items, fake news, and inciting rhetorics in the country.