By Seun Ibiyemi
The Association of Telephone, CableTV and Internet Subscribers of Nigeria (ATCIS) have warned the House Representative members over selfish interest on Lifting of Twitter ban by the Federal Government.
The House of Representatives had rejected the lifting of Twitter suspension. The rejection came while the House was considering the report of its Committee on the matter.
Federal Government had earlier in June ban Twitter from Nigeria following the remover of President Muhammadu Buhari tweet, It is exactly one month today July 5th, 2021.
Speaking to Nigerian NewsDirect, the president of ATCIS, National President, Hon. Prince Sina Bilesanmi said in its sustained effort in protecting the interest and right of telecoms subscribers in Nigeria.
“Do Reps know some Nigerian that voted for them depends on this platform for their Livelihood.”
Bilesanmi urged the Federal Government to consider how the suspension of the social media platform could exert adverse effects on the economy.
He said, “By shutting down the platform which has become the means of livelihood to many Nigerian youths, the government has created another problem that is weighty more than the deleted tweet of Mr. president.
“In addition, the Nigerian constitution clearly spells out the right of the people to freedom expression without interference. If Twitter has so far served as a platform for people to enjoy that right, the current action of the government contravenes that constitutional provision.
“One other thing we observed is the speed at which the Federal Government carried out the suspension of Twitter in less than 24 hours after announcement. As a body of subscribers affected by many challenges facing the country, we urge and beg Mr. President, our Lawmakers, Political office holders or leadership’s to lift the ban for the sake of citizen who depends on it as livelihood, to address these problems with similar alacrity.”
He added that ATCIS has spent about N375 millions since 2014 till date, which has basically been self- sponsored by members without government agencies like NBC, NCC, FCCPC and NIMC input.
With membership strength of over 188 million Subscribers across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria as at April 2021, foremost No 1 leading telecom masses advocacy body to promoting Subscribers’ interests as well as defending their rights in Nigeria, since it was founded in 2014.
Recall that House of Representatives, on Thursday backed the Federal Government on the ban placed on Twitter.
The lawmakers voted out a prayer asking the government to lift the ban while considering the report by the joint committee mandated by the House to investigate the matter.
The report had divided the lawmakers, with some members of the House criticising the report for failing to address the main issues. For further information visit: www.atcisnigeria.com