Yesterday, was World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, and our dear 8th National Assembly ditched the famous frivolous social media bill.
The Frivolous Petition Bill has passed its first and second reading but yesterday Nigerian senate ditched out the bill on the floor of senate.
DSP Ekweremadu now puts the question and Senate hereby steps down the #FrivolousPetitionsBill SB. 143 sponsored by Senator Bala Na’Allah.
— Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) May 17, 2016
The frivolous social media bill was sponsored by Senator Bala Na’Allah about few months ago, and it required citizens to have accompanying affidavits before they could submit any petition to the government. It means that it could more expensive and tedious for any Nigerians citizen to submit a petition – but that’s not what got people mad.
The bill was also against the freedom of expression on social media and also their are penalty and fine for anybody that send out false message on Whats App and other social media platforms.
Senator @shehusani says the #FrivolousPetitionsBill will stiffle the press and the social media must not be silenced.
— Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) May 17, 2016
Glad to see that as promised during social media week, #FrivolousPetitionsBill has been officially stepped down https://t.co/WS8YofCo9z
— Bukola Saraki (@bukolasaraki) May 17, 2016