The Federal Government has disclosed that Twitter had formally written to seek dialogue following the indefinite suspension of its operations in the country.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, on a radio programme on Tuesday.
He said “I can confirm that Twitter has written the Federal Government that they are ready to talk.
“As we have always maintained, the door is not locked and we are open minded but Twitter must work toward it,” he said.
While reiterating the government’s position that it would not let any platform to be used to destabilise the country, the minister said among other conditions for Twitter to resume operation in Nigeria, there must be an agreement as to what contents it could allow.
He said Twitter and other platforms must also register as a Nigerian company, obtain licence from the National Broadcasting Commission, as well as pay taxes.
The minister added, “Singapore, Algeria, Pakistan, Turkey regulate the social media, Australia has done so. Even the EU that does not have particular laws on social media has made recommendations in a white paper.”
Mohammed said that regulation of the social media was not synonymous with stifling press freedom.
“The suspension of Twitter is to ensure that no particular platform is used to cause war in Nigeria. Secondly, it is to ensure that whoever is making money in Nigeria must be made to pay tax.”
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