Senator Ned Nwoko, representing the Delta North senatorial district and Chairman Senate Committee on Reparations and Repatriation, has proposed the regulation of social media platforms in Nigeria as is applicable to the developed countries of the world.
Senator Nwoko, whose proposal had been pencilled down in a Bill now before the National Assembly, said Nigeria should not continue to allow Facebook, X, Instagram and other social media platforms to operate for free with reckless abandon, giving the country bad image and getting away with it.
The Lawmaker was speaking on Monday at a special edition of Journalists hangout of the Delta State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), which he hosted at his Idumuje-Ugboko country home.
He said the social media platforms should be made to establish physical presence in the country and operate within the ambit of Nigerian laws, emphasizing the need for them to be held liable for libel, defamation of character or tax evasion, where applicable.
The Star Prince and former member of the House of Representatives said compelling the new media platforms to have offices in Nigeria would be of immense benefits to the country, including creation of thousands of job opportunities and contributing to the economic growth of the nation.
The Senator further explained that it would be easier to prosecute the social media platforms in the country whenever they contravened the law than to do so from their foreign base, which he said would be cumbersome and expensive.
He added that there would also be transfer of technology from the media organisations which could be copied for the greater good of the country, while substantial revenue could be generated from the platforms by way of taxation
Senator Nwoko frowned at the payment of expatriate professionals in foreign currencies, while their Nigerian counterparts were being paid in naira, describing it as discriminatory and demeaning to the local currency.
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