NIGERIA GUILD OF EDITORS URGES THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO THREAD WITH CAUTION AND IMMEDIATELY RECONSIDER THE SUSPENSION OF TWITTER OPERATION IN NIGERIA.

The Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE has urged the Federal Government to thread with caution and immediately reconsider the suspension of the operation of Twitter in Nigeria and seek other legitimate means of resolving its dispute with the company.

In a statement by the president Mustapha Isah and General Secretary, Iyobosa Uwugiaden, the NGE says the Federal Government’s action has the unintended consequences of hindering free speech and jeopardizing the economic interests of many Nigerians who rely on the social media platform for vital information to make informed business decisions daily.

Advising the Federal Government to desist from any action that could project the Nigerian Government as a dictatorship, the Nigerian Editors said the action was an infringement on Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution and violates the rights of Nigerians to interact freely on this platform

According to the statement, in addition, the suspension is a grave breach of Nigeria’s international obligations under article 9 of the African Charter on Human and people’s rights, and article 19 of the international covenant on civil and political rights

The Guild sees the indefinite suspension as an overreaction to Twitter’s decision to delete President Muhammadu Buhari’s tweet early last week.

The Guild added that if the Federal Government fund twitter’s action against the President’s objectionable, Nigerians should not be made to suffer the collateral damage of denying them their right to free discourse on twitter.

Noting the socio political and economic benefits of social media platforms the NGE notes that strong democracies rely on both civic and political participation by citizens saying that twitter has over the year aided citizens participation in the nation’s democratic process