NiRA Denies Shutting Down APC Website

Mrs. Mary Uduma, president, Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) has dismissed All Progressives Congress (APC’s) accusation that federal government ordered the body to shut down the party’s website registered with the association.

According to her, ‘NiRA is an independent community based organization that manages the country’s top level domain name .ng. We don’t have direct relationship with federal government. We signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with federal government on our relationship, government don’t determine what we do and there was no instruction either written or verbal by government to NiRA or its registrars to shutdown APC website. APC website was registered in 2013 as at today (yesterday) that website is up and running”.

According to her, NiRA queried the registrar that registered APC website and he explained that the web-manager of APC website was trying to reconfigure the website to .org which she stated is tantamount to capital flight and does not ensure security.

It would be recalled that Mr. Babatunde Fashola, Lagos State Governor and Chairman, All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Fund Raising Committee, had alleged that the People’s Democratic Party-led Federal Government had shut down the party’s official website.
The governor, who described the move as an attempt to prevent the party from reaching out to millions of Nigerians who are desirous of change, also unveiled fund raising platforms where every Nigerian can donate to the Buhari/ Osinbajo campaign fund.

Speaking while unveiling several platforms at the Lagos House, Marina, Fashola said the party decided to democratise the fund raising to enable the poor and the rich participate in the change movement. Fashola added that Nigerians could pay as low as N100 to the fund, assuring that he would personally appreciate the donation through text messages and letters.

Fashola said: “It is important to emphasise the intolerant disposition of the ruling party to the opposition by informing the public that our party’s domain name, www.apc.com.ng, which incidentally promotes the party have been shut down by the Nigerian government because they do not want us to use the internet to communicate.

“Regrettably but necessarily, we were compelled to register a new name which they will have little control over. And that was www. APCGMBPYO. org.

It will be the internet platform for this fund raising and other activities.” Fashola said the proceeds from the fund would not be spent on building of the party secretariat.