The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has advised President Bola Tinubu to call the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications, and Strategy, Dele Alake, to order over utterances he made on the need to regulate social media in Nigeria.
SERAP, in a tweet via its verified Twitter handle on Thursday, stated that “President Tinubu should call Mr. Alake to order over his push to regulate social media”.
Alake stated on Wednesday that he will support any proposal by the Senate to regulate social media in Nigeria.
The ministerial nominee made the remark while answering questions during Wednesday’s ministerial screening on the floor of the Senate.
“The downside of social media is that it is detrimental to a good and decent society. What I would support is the strengthening of regulations,” Mr. Alake said.
“There are laws that guide our conduct in every area of human endeavour, but the application of these laws has been shut down.
“I will recommend the strengthening of our regulations and the application of those laws. The laws must be tested so we can know the proficiency of those regulations. I will support anything that comes from this hallowed chamber that promotes that course of action” Alake added.
SERAP also threatened to head to court if Tinubu tolls the part of his predecessor, former president Muhammadu Buhari, in clamping down on freedom of expression on social media.
“We’ll see in court if the administration ever follows Buhari’s bad example of clamping down on freedom of expression on social media,” SERAP stated.
