Reps Probe Twitter Ban As PDP Caucus Protests

• Speaker shuns point of order, upholds 10 days timeline for Committee’s work
• Lawmakers dare Malami, invite Lai Mohammed for briefing

BY VICTOR BUORO, ABUJA – Contentions over the Federal Government’s indefinite ban on Twitter operations in Nigeria caused a split in the House of Representatives on Tuesday as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Caucus staged a dramatic walkout from the chambers during plenary.

However, weaving past the mild drama, the lawmakers later sheathed their sword and mandated relevant Committees to investigate circumstances of the ban that has so far courted scathing criticisms from Nigerians and the international community.

To further straighten things out, the House extended an invitation to the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed to brief the lawmakers on the rationale behind banning the micro blogging platform.

Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, who welcomed his colleagues to the plenary after the zonal public hearing on the constitution review exercise, said the House owes it a duty to unravel issues that led to the ban.

According to him, the House has been inundated with calls by Nigerians to intervene in the matter, noting that having become an important instrument for Communication and Commerce in Nigeria, Twitter cannot be easily ignored.

With the House taking a position for a committee to investigate the ban, the mild drama ensued as aggrieved opposition party members threatened a walkout following the Speaker’s rejection of a point of order by Hon. Kingsley Chinda canvassing that government rescind its decision pending when the proposed interface by both sides is concluded.

In raising the issue, China had urged the Speaker to include it as an additional prayer in the resolution setting up of the Committee probing the suspension of Twitter activities.

However, the Speaker, in overruling him, noted that a decision had already been taken as contained in the Committee’s mandate

With the House Leader, Hon Ado Doguwa and the Chief Whip, Hon Mohammed Mongunu lending their voices to the Speaker’s ruling and directive that Chinda should take his seat, the PDP lawmakers hurriedly gathered their belongings with the threat of staging a walkout.

With calm returning after shouts of “you can leave; you can go” from some members had ebbed, the House proceedings resumed with Hon. Yusuf Gagdi from Plateau State raising a point of Order that his privilege had been breached.

He informed the House that privilege information at his disposal indicated some opposition members vowing a few days ago to disrupt today’s proceedings if the Speaker did not allow them to raise the Twitter ban for discussion.

Insisting that the report breached his privileges as a member of the parliament, Gagdi demanded the colleagues who issued such threat should be investigated.

Responding, the Speaker, who pleaded that the matter be laid to rest given that a Committee is already in place to handle it, said it was regrettable that some “seasoned lawmakers” knowing the rules would still deliberately move to disrupt the House proceedings.

But addressing the House Press Corps on their perceived grievances, the PDP Caucus said the point of order was only an added prayer to the Speaker’s speech.

The Caucus led by Hon Chinda praised the Speaker for being proactive but maintained that 10 days period was too long for Nigerians to wait before resuming their Twitter operations.

Maintaining his grounds that the Speaker was wrong in ruling him out of order, the lawmaker said the PDP Caucus will continue tweeting in defiance of the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, Abubakar Malami’s directive.

The Caucus also said their members, on behalf of Nigerians, are ready to be arrested by the government for flouting the ‘no tweet’ order