MINISTER of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed has said that each social media platform in Nigeria must obtain license and pay tax to the Nigerian government.
Mohammed said this on Wednesday in Abuja while addressing journalists after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.
He said the social media platforms were making billions of naira in Nigeria without remitting tax to the government.
“Whether it is Netflix, Iroko or Facebook…they are all doing business in Nigeria, making money and they are not paying taxes. This is in addition to being able to regulate them. They are making billions of naira out of this country and they are not paying tax. That cannot be allowed to go on,” Mohammed said.
Also, Mohammed said after obtaining the license, the social media outfits should also “refrain from using their platforms for activities that are inimical to the growth of Nigeria.”
This is coming six days after the Nigerian government banned Twitter operations in Nigeria shortly after the platform deleted a controversial tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Although Nigerians have continued to use Twitter through Virtual Private Networks (VPN), the government has threatened to prosecute anyone found using the platform.
The government’s action has been heavily criticised by some Nigerians, including state governors, and members of the international community, who described the suspension as an attempt to stifle freedom of expression in the country.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via [email protected], on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94