According to report reaching oyogist.com, the federal government has disclosed to the Nigerian masses that it has no plan to shut down the internet and stifle the freedom of press and speech.
This was made known by the Nigerian Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, while addressing newsmen on Friday in Abuja. The minister blamed the recent violence which ensued after the #Endsars protests on the fake news media stating that the media escalated the whole issue.
Mr. Lai however noted that the federal government would not seat and allow the fake media informations destroy the Nigerian media reputation through reckless reporting on the social media. He noted that the federal government was going to work with stakeholders so as to stop the abuse of social media.
“This development has strengthened our resolve to work with stakeholders to stop the abuse of social media. It has also rekindled the debate on the need to regulate social media content, a debate that is not limited to Nigeria.”
“Former United States President, Barack Obama, has said the Internet and social media have helped to create the ‘single biggest threat’ to democracy. Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg has called for more regulation of social media content. Other giant tech companies seem to agree. On our part, we will not sit down and allow a reckless use of social media to aggravate our fault lines and throw the country into turmoil.”
“But in curbing the excesses of social media, rest assured, gentlemen, that we will neither shut down the internet nor stifle press freedom or free speech, as some have insinuated. We also acknowledge that social media is here to stay.”
