The Federal Government of Nigeria has said it is currently monitoring the activities on Twitter following its takeover by a new owner, Elon Musk
This was disclosed by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed on Thursday in Abuja.
The Minister stated this in his opening address at the 3rd edition of the ‘PMB Administration Scorecard 2015-2023’ series organised by his Ministry to showcase the achievements of the administration in the last seven years.
The third edition featured the Ministry of Aviation headed by Hadi Sirika, who reeled out the achievements recorded by his ministry.
In his opening remarks,Lai Mohammed said there are questions about what will become of the Federal Government’s 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,” Lai Mohammed said
“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. Definitely 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.”