Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja __________________________________
CLARIFICATION OF COMMENTS BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AT HIS MEETING WITH ENVOYS
The attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been drawn to misleading reports by several media outlets published today, Monday, 7th June 2021, in which the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Geoffrey Onyeama was misquoted as giving conditions for lifting the Twitter suspension.
The Honourable Minister after a meeting with some Heads of Diplomatic Missions resident in Nigeria was quoted to have said that “Twitter’s operations in Nigeria will be restored only if the platform can be used responsibly”. This statement by the Honourable Minister has been quoted out of context.
Contrary to the publications, the Honourable Minister was speaking generally about the responsibilities that go with freedom of speech, stating that platforms that have the power to instantly disseminate information among billions of people have the added responsibility to exercise that power responsibly.
The Ministry wishes to state categorically that the Honourable Minister did not give any conditions regarding lifting the Twitter suspension.
Signed
Ferdinand Nwonye
Spokesperson
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Monday, 7th June 2021
