ABSTRACT

This Study's objective was to evaluate the impact of Twitter's ban on transparency and accountability in government by using the Mohammadu Buhari administration as a case study. The study looked specifically at the value of social media for promoting government transparency, the level of that transparency on twitter prior to the ban, and the potential effects of the current twitter ban on citizens opinions of the government openness and accountability. Survey research method was used in this study. Data from the questionnaire, which were scored on a five-point scale of Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Undecided (U), Strongly disagree (SD), and Disagree (D), were gathered. The data were then analyzed using frequency tables and the simple percentage approach. A total of 120 respondents were conveniently selected as sample size comprising of students in the University of Benin, Edo state. Out of the 120 respondents, 100 responses were received and validated from the survey. The survey incorporated the uses-and-gratification hypothesis (UGT). The findings from the collected and analyzed replies showed that Nigeria’s twitter ban does have a detrimental effects on citizens perception of governmental openness. In addition, there is a big connection between the twitter ban and government transparency. Based on these findings, it was suggested that Nigeria, as a democratic nation, that the government therefore should know that transparency and accountability is one of the sole role of democracy in the country is been communicated to the populace via different news channels and individuals. The government of Nigeria should therefore, uphold the doctrines of democracy by lifting the ban on twitter usage and grant citizens access to free information.