Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture, refuted the assertion and provided journalists with documentation of the discussions with the government on Monday in Abuja.
Paulen Tallen, the minister of women's affairs, was a featured speaker at the 13th instalment of the President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) Administration Scorecard Series (2015–2023).
Recall that on June 4, 2021, Twitter's operations in the nation were halted due to the microblogging site's continued use of practices that might threaten Nigeria's business survival.
In contrast to what the former Twitter employee said, the minister claimed that Nigeria and Twitter engaged in a protracted dialogue at Twitter's request after the platform was suspended.
“Seven days after the suspension, precisely on June 11th 2021, we received a letter, addressed to Mr. President, from Twitter’s Vice President in charge of Public Policy, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Sinead McSweeney, seeking to meet with us on the Twitter suspension.
“That letter kick-started several activities that culminated in the extensive negotiation,”
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that a copy of the letter was displayed on the screens at the briefing and made available to newsmen.
After receiving the letter, the minister said the federal government announced its team to discuss with Twitter.
Mohammed said he chaired the team, which comprised the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Ministers of Communications and Digital Economy and Foreign Affairs.
He said other team members were the Minister of Works and Housing, Minister of State for Labour and Employment and the Director-General the National Intelligence Agency.
Mohammed said following the team's composition, they received another letter from a group, Albright Stonebridge Group, which was working at the behest of Twitter.
The minister said Twitter also set up a team headed by Sinead Sweeney, Twitter’s Vice President, Europe, Middle East and Africa, to enter into discussion with the government.
Other members of the Twitter team, according to the minister, included Karen White, Senior Director, Public Policy, Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa; Ronan Costello, Senior Public Policy Manager, Africa, Europe, and Middle East;
Also in the Twitter team were Emmanuel Lubanzadio, Head of Public Policy, Sub-Saharan Africa; Jim Baker, Deputy General Counsel and Ambassador Johnnie Carson, Senior Adviser, Albright Stonebridge Group.
“The back-and-forth negotiations culminated in a series of agreements that paved the way for lifting the Twitter suspension in January this year.
“Gentlemen, with the facts that we have supplied, you can now see that the fellow who reportedly alleged that Twitter did not negotiate with Nigeria is either being economical with the truth or didn’t even understand the workings of the company where he worked,” he said.
The minister said he released the proofs following requests from the media seeking response to the allegation by the former Twitter worker and to set the records straight.