Social media was very instrumental in galvanising support for the #EndSARS protest in Nigeria.
Now, the 19 Governors in Nigeria’s northern region have called on the Federal Government to censor social media in the country saying that its use during the #EndSARS protests threatened the oneness of the country.
The Northern Governors’ Forum chairman Solomon Lalong announced the position of the governors in a communique after a meeting on Monday evening.
Lalong, the governor of Plateau State said: “The meeting took note of the devastating effect of the uncontrolled social media in spreading fake news. Therefore, calls for major control mechanism and censorship of the social media practice in Nigeria.
“The meeting rejects and condemns the subversive actions of the #EndSARS protest. The superlative agitations and other change-regime actions outside the ballot Box soon take advantage of the peaceful protests to push for their separative agenda. The meeting endorse the indivisibility, indissolubility and oneness of the Nation.”
The governors vowed to contend with anything that suggests an undemocratic change in government and stated that the unity of the country was non-negotiable.
The Forum urged the government to keep a “strict watch on the Federal Capital Territory to guide against unwarranted and destructive protests to safeguard critical assets of the Nation.
“The Meeting commends the National Assembly and the Presidency in being proactive in addressing the issues of Endsars protests across the country,” Lalong said.
“The meeting resolves to support the Nigerian Police Force to serve the country better and calls for the strengthening of trust between the people and the Police.
“The meeting expressed concern over the low-level involvement of relevant stakeholders in the implementation programmes of Government and calls on the relevant Agencies to review implementation strategies to make for maximum impact and benefits.”
