El-Rufai under fire for using Twitter despite ban
The Governor whose last tweet was on June 6, a day after the Nigerian government suspended the activities of Twitter, caught the attention of Nigerians when he replied to a fan praising him for his works as the former minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
Taiwo Ajakaye with the handle, @dmightyangel tweeted, “I really wish we will get more @elrufai in politics. The man left FCT and till date, the Federal Capital Territory has not been able to have another FCT minister that is close to the shoe latchet of El-Rufai in terms of courage, administration, performance & focus, 14 years ago o.”
Responding to the tweet, the Governor wrote, “This is an exaggerated compliment @dmightyangel but thank you for some of the words of encouragement. God Bless our nation. – @elrufai”
In the comment section, @dexybaba asked the governor if he was using a Virtual Private Network, and he replied that he was out of the country, and “can tweet for the time being.”
Also, #EndSARS campaigner, and human rights activist, Rinu Oduala was quick to point out to the governor that “The only place you get the freedom of speech is outside Nigeria,” in the comment section.
Another Twitter user, @ogbuebunu, quoting her tweet, also said, “shamelessness without a pair. Tweeting under the pretence of being outside the country shows moral bankruptcy. One would expect he would stand on a high ground since it was his party that banned Twitter. Well, he is still a Nigerian politician. Zero integrity.”
In response, Governor El-Rufai maintained that Rinu was wrong as “conflating Twitter with ‘freedom of speech’ is a significant exaggeration.”
“Freedoms of many descriptions existed before and without Twitter, and will remain long after!! Enjoy your day,” he said.
Human Rights activist, Aisha Yesufu also called out the Governor for the hypocrisy of using the platform outside the country, while the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), an All Progressive Congress member like himself, had banned the use of Twitter in Nigeria.
“You really should be absolutely and disgustingly ashamed of yourself @elrufai,” she wrote. “You are going outside to enjoy the very basic thing a government you are part of have denied the people. While enjoying Twitter without VPN, you also enjoy the security you have denied your people.”
The Governor has not been exactly compliant with the ban from the past, even while he seemed to show support for the directive.
After his June 6 tweet, an ex-presidential aide of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, called on the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, to prosecute El-Rufai for flouting the Twitter ban.
“Dear @MalamiSAN, @elrufai tweeted this 20 minutes ago in violation of your #TwitterBan. If you do not start your arrest and prosecution with him, then you must admit that you are a failure and a man who does not keep to his word,” he tweeted.
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