The Federal Government has said it would not rest until social media is regulated, noting that nobody will survive otherwise.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, sounded the note of warning in an interview with newsmen in Washington, United States of America, USA, on Wednesday.
At the interview, he also denied reports that he “sneaked out of Nigeria to meet with Twitter executives” in the US, describing same as fake news.
Recall that the Federal Government suspended the microblogging and social networking platform, Twitter.
Denying the reports of a clandestine meeting with Twitter executives on Wednesday, Lai Mohammed said his official visit to the U.S. had nothing to do with the microblogging and social networking platform.
Mohammed said he was in the U.S. to meet with international media organizations and think tanks on the achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and efforts made so far in tackling insurgency, banditry and all forms of criminality.
His words: “When you talk about fake news and its danger, we need to take it seriously and I am happy that the entire world is now seeing what we saw more than two years ago.
“I can assure you that we will not rest until we regulate the social media, otherwise, nobody will survive it,” he said.
The minister reiterated the position that the Federal Government suspended Twitter operations in the country not because it deleted the tweet by the President as being propagated in some section of the media.
He said the operation of the microblogging medium was suspended because of its persistent use of its platform for activities that were capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.
He also underscored the need for the organization to register as a business entity and obtain license from the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, to carry out its activities.
Mohammed said the engagement between Twitter and the Federal Government on how to resolve the issue of the ban had reached an advanced stage.
Credit: Vanguard Nigeria
