It has been revealed how the ondo state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu openly codemned and rubbished the Buhari-led administration’s decision to ban the micro-blogging site, Twitter operation in the country.
For Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, the decision of the federal government to ban Twitter operations in Nigeria was ‘ill thought’.
Despite being a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Akeredolu rubbished the federal government, saying the decision is likely to render youths jobless.
The governor expressed his displeasure at the decision while speaking at a celebration of Democracy Day in Akure on Saturday.
DAILY GIST reports that hundreds of Nigerian youths across some states in the country stormed the streets to express thier dissatisfaction against Buhari government.
The youths who were chanting “Buhari must go” during the protests said President Muhammadu Buhari had failed and must leave for those who are capable of leading a country as complex as Nigeria.
According to them the president has failed in addressing the challenges in the country, including that of insecurity.
It would be recalled that Mr Akeredolu and his counter part in Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai, last week, dared the prosecution threats made by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.
They defied the Nigerian authorities directive suspending activities of Twitter by posting tweets through their verified accounts.
DAILY GIST though reports that the federal government on Saturday made a u-turn on its decision to prosecute Nigerians using Twitter after Ban.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami noted that the federal government will not prosecute Nigerians using Twitter but instead will go after those who are helping Nigerians circumvent the ban on the micro-blogging site.
On June 12, various state governors held a symposium to discuss matters affecting their respective states in celebration of Democracy Day.
Speaking during the Ondo state government celebration of June 12, Mr Akeredolu openly criticized the federal government. A short video clip of the governor’s address was obtained where he made mockery of the APC led government.
While he tried not to make his comments seem like an attack on the federal government, he wondered why the decision was made.
“There are many things we do a number of time that I don’t know what cause the reason. Let me just leave it,” Mr Akeredolu paused.
After a second, he openly expressed his mind, saying youth take advantage of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms to make money before the government’s ban.
“There is youth unemployment everywhere and we are hearing the banning of Twitter and banning that, where do you want them to go?,” Mr Akeredolu asked the crowd a rhetorical question as he shook his head in disappointment at federal government.
DAILY GIST had reported that the Federal Government ordered all Telecoms to block Nigerians from accessing Twitter.
This action has left many Nigerians with no other choice but to engage the services VPN providers as an alternative option to access Twitter and other social media networks.
Twitter announced recently that it’s authority is currently in talk with the Nigerian government over possible reversal of the suspension of it’s operation in the country.
