The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has stated that the Federal Government will not relent in its quest to regulate social media platforms in the country.
He disclosed this on Wednesday during an interview with NAN in Washington, citing the dangers of fake news on social media as the reason.
The Minister described as false, online media reports of him sneaking out of the country to meet with Twitter executives’’ in the US is fake.
He stated that the purpose of his trip to the US was to meet with international media organizations and think tanks on the accomplishments of the current administration, and efforts made so far in tackling insurgency, banditry, and all forms of criminality.
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He has so far met with media outlets such as; the BBC, Bloomberg, and Politico during his visit to Washington DC, he however stated that said he has not met with Twitter.
“Can a minister sneak out of Nigeria without people knowing? When you say I sneaked out of Nigeria, are you saying I went to board at a terminal where nobody is, or I travelled to the Republic of Benin to fly out of the country?” he asked.
“I was at an international airport, where I presented myself openly and I was checked in at the counter like every other traveller of the airline. I boarded and passed through the checks by the immigration service and customs.
“How can you come and say I sneaked out of the country? You and I have been here, have I met with any Twitter official?
“When you talk about fake news and its dangers, we need to take it seriously, and I am happy that the entire world is now seeing what we saw more than two years ago. I can assure you that we will not rest until we regulate the social media. Otherwise, nobody will survive it.”
The Federal Government on June 4, announced the barring of Twitter’s operations in Nigeria.
