Twitter Ban: PDP Cautions APC, FG Against Harassing Foreign Envoys

Considers Court Action, Civil Protests

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) cautions the All Progressives 
Congress (APC)-led Federal Government against harassing foreign envoys 
and other members of the international community for speaking out 
against the infringement on the rights of Nigerians by the 
administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The PDP’s position is predicated on the summoning of the envoys of the 
United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada among 
others by the Federal Government, for standing on the side of Nigerians 
in criticizing the unwarranted suspension of Twitter in our country.

The PDP is alarmed by the development which smacks of intolerance 
towards the international community as obtained in Idi Amin’s 
dictatorial Uganda of 1971 to 1979.

Our party notes that there is no law or statute that prohibits foreign 
envoys from speaking out against clear violation of internationally 
enshrined freedom of expression and right to social interactions as 
provided by Twitter and other social media platforms.

In fact, the defence of such rights is a fundamental duty which envoys 
owe their host nations and the international community.

The PDP therefore cautions that any harassment or assault on foreign 
envoys place them at great risk as well as pitch our nation against 
other members of the international community.

It is instructive for the APC and the Buhari administration to note that 
given the current downturn of our national life under their misrule, 
Nigeria cannot afford being declared a pariah nation.

The PDP is worried that the APC administration has been overheating our 
polity leading to escalation of insecurity, killings, bloodletting and 
violence in the country.

Nigerians would recall that ahead of the 2019 general elections, one of 
the leaders of the APC, the Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir 
el-Rufai, had threatened that some of the foreign election monitors 
would be returned to their countries in body bags.

Our party therefore demands that the Federal Government should listen to 
the voice of reason, end its misrule and desist from infringing on the 
rights of Nigerians as being witnessed in the illegal and vexatious ban 
on Twitter.

Already, the PDP is perfecting processes for a legal action against the 
APC-led Federal Government’s suspension of Twitter and the directive to 
broadcasting stations to pull out of Twitter.

In the same vein, our party is considering a directive to all our wards, 
local governments and state structure to commence peaceful civil 
protests against suspension of Twitter, the spate of insecurity and the 
failures of the Buhari administration.

Signed:

Kola Ologbondiyan
National Publicity Secretary