The Federal Government on Tuesday stated that Twitter had formally written to seek dialogue with Nigerian government on issues leading to the indefinite suspension of its operations in the country.
The minister of information and culture , Lai Mohammed made this known when he featured on ‘Politics Nationwide,’ a call-in programme of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria.
“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 restating the government’s position that it would not any platform to be used to threaten the country’s stability, 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.
The minister said, “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.”