By Ken Afor
The Federal Government of Nigeria has officially suspended the contentious 0.5% cybersecurity levy imposed on electronic banking transactions.
This was disclosed on Tuesday by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting. According to the minister, the decision to suspend the levy came following discussions during the FEC meeting chaired by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
It would be recalled on Sunday, Tinubu had reportedly ordered a suspension of the cybersecurity levy policy. The President was said to have instructed the suspension due to a lack of proper approval from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) before initiating the implementation process outlined in the Cybersecurity Act, as reports indicated.
Further details revealed that the suspension of the policy was due to the country’s current economic challenges and the widespread public outcry and calls from the National Assembly for its suspension.
“The President simply stopped the implementation for now so as not to put extra burden on Nigerians. NSA also didn’t get his approval before implementing the provision of the Cybersecurity Act.
“It is wrong to say he ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stop, CBN is not the originator of the action. It is NSA,” a source within the presidency reportedly said.
It would be recalled that on May 6, 2024, the apex bank had issued a circular to all financial institutions, notifying them of the intended commencement of the implementation of the National Cybersecurity Fund (NCF).
“Following the enactment of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (amendment) Act 2024 and under the provision of Section 44 (2)(a) of the Act, a levy of 0.5 per cent (0.005) equivalent to a half per cent of all electronic transactions value by the business specified in the Second Schedule of the Act.
“The levy shall be applied at the point of electronic transfer origination, then deducted and remitted by the financial institution. The deducted amount shall be reflected in the customer’s account with the narration, ‘Cybersecurity Levy’,” it stated.
