.……. not allow Twitter push Nigeria into a state of…………..
The Federal Government has said they were closely monitoring the policies of Twitter following its change of ownership of the micro-blogging platform, to Elon Musk.
The Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Thursday, made the government’s position public at the news conference in Abuja.
The Minister said the suspension of the platform last year was due to the tendency of some elements to use it to misinform Nigeria via fake news, disinformation and hate speech.
He said the government has no intention to stop any social media from performing its duties but at the same time would not allow any social platforms to push the country into a state of Anarchy.
He said: “Many have called to ask us what will become of our agreement with Twitter given the change in its ownership.
“Many have asked for our reaction following reports that there has been a spike in fake news, disinformation and hate speech since the micro-blogging site changed ownership.
“Many have even asked us if another ban is in the offing.
“Let me say this: We are closely monitoring the evolving developments at Twitter. It has never been our intention to ban any social media platform or stifle free speech. Not at all.
“What happened in the case of Twitter is well known to all. Twitter became a platform of choice for those who want to destabilize Nigeria, using fake news, disinformation and hate speech.
“No nation will allow any social media platform to plunge it into anarchy. Not Nigeria.
“But we have continued to engage positively with the different social media platforms, including Facebook, Google (owners of YouTube) and Twitter.
“We have no intention of banning any social media platform again. But we will also not sit by and allow any platform whatsoever to throw our nation into crisis,” the minister said.
