The Minister of information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has threatened that the Buhari-led administration will suspend all other social media platforms if they are found capable of destabilising Nigeria.
According to Sahara Reporters, the minister said this before the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Information, Justice, and Communication on Tuesday at the National Assembly in Abuja while answering questions on the Twitter ban.
According to Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Twitter made Its platform available as a choice for Nigeria’s separatists.
Answering the committees he said;
“We want Twitter to be registered first in the country before they can operate,” he said.
When asked whether any channel of dialogue had been opened with Twitter, the minister said “we tried to but they rebuffed us. They are not known to us. They are not registered, but we hope we will be able to engage them”, as he lamented that the organisation had no investment in Nigeria, but in Ghana, while the target market was Nigeria.
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The minister also buttresses that the ban on Twitter was not intended to stifle free speech and press freedom.
“There was no intention of the federal government to stifle free speech in the country. The only reason we suspended Twitter is that it was promoting disunity. Its activities are inimical to the unity of the country,” Mohammed insisted.
He said the government would not hesitate to suspend other social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Google hangout, and others if they are found to be promoting posts or statements capable of destabilising the country.
During the hearing, a Nigerian activist and the convener, Defence Of Nigerian Democracy, Ariyo Dare Atoye who was at the venue raised his hand to air his views but was ruled out of order and shut down by the Committee Chairman, Olusegun Odebunmi.
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Causing a mild drama, Ariyo said he is a Nigerian and a user of the microblogging platform and should be allowed to contribute.
Ariyo added that it was wrong for the committee to ruled him out. He also said the minister was wrong in his presentation, adding that he defended the need for Nigeria to have independent media when he was in the opposition.
The activist also stated that the National Assembly is meant for all Nigerians and that he was at the hearing to observe the investigative hearing and ask questions as a Nigerian.
He wondered how the same person changed overnight to become an advocate of regulated social media.
However, Odebunmi insisted that only the minister would be allowed to make a presentation.
Meanwhile, some of the committee members expressed concern at the decision and action of the executive to suspend Twitter, stating that the country was sliding into totalitarianism.
