Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Wednesday, claimed that popular social media giant, Twitter, has expressed readiness for talks with the Federal Government on the ban placed on its operations in Nigeria.
Last Friday, the Federal Government had suspended the operations of the microblogging site in Nigeria, accusing it of interference.
But while addressing State House correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Council, on Wednesday, Mohammed announced that Twitter had reached out to the government seeking high-level discussion to resolve the issue.
Mohammed said that he got the message regarding the matter on Wednesday morning.
He stressed that the microblogging platform was suspended because it provided an avenue for people threatening the corporate existence of Nigeria.
He alleged that the owner of Twitter helped to fund the recent #EndSARS protest while allowing the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, to use the platform to call for the killing of policemen.
He accused Twitter of failing to take down Kanu’s tweets despite repeated requests to do so.
The minister, however, listed conditions that must be met even if there is a discussion with Twitter, including its formal registration in Nigeria as a business concern.
Mohammed also said apart from Twitter, other social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram must be registered in the country.
The Minister said freedom of speech has not been stifled by the suspension of Twitter as Nigerians can still use other platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.
He said it was not true that the suspension was not effective, saying Twitter won’t be losing money if the ban had been ineffective.