Updated: Twitter has reached out to FG, says Lai Mohammed

• Insists firm must register with CAC, get NBC licence

Twitter has reached out to the Federal Government and disclosed its readiness for talks to resolve the face-off between them.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated this on Wednesday while speaking with State House correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC).

He also listed conditions that must be fulfilled by the firm for its service to be allowed again in Nigeria.

He said Twitter must be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC); it should obtain the licence to operate in the country from the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and must pay taxes to the Nigerian government.

Besides, the minister said it must not lend its platform for use to persons trying to destabilise the country.

The Federal Government suspended the operations of the microblogging site last Friday for deleting a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari it considered a violation of its rule and reportedly condoling comments from groups and individuals it found to be anti-Nigeria.

But Mohammed said Twitter had reached out to the government seeking high-level discussion to resolve the issue, adding that he received the message on Wednesday morning.

The minister stressed that the microblogging platform was suspended because it provided an avenue for people threatening the corporate existence of Nigeria.

According to him, the owner of Twitter helped to fund the recent #EndSARS protest while allowing the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, use the platform to call for the killing of policemen.

He said Twitter failed to take down Kanu’s tweets despite repeated requests to do so.

Mohammed listed conditions that must be met even if there is a discussion with Twitter including that it must now be registered in Nigeria as a business concern.

Apart from Twitter, he said other social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram must be registered in the country.

He 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 dismissed the notion that the suspension was not effective, arguing that Twitter won’t be losing money if the ban is ineffective.

He said, “Our conditions are already laid out: one, to do business in Nigeria, they must register as Nigerian companies; two, you must be licensed. Three, they will have to refrain from using the platform for activities that are inimical to the growth of Nigeria, to the corporate existence of Nigeria. From there, any other issue will come in. We already talked to them.”