President Bola Tinubu suspends implementation of the Cybersecurity Levy

President Bola Tinubu today suspended the implementation of the cybersecurity levy as recently directed by the Central Bank of Nigeria. According to the President, he is taking this measure to avoid over burdening the citizens who are already battling economic hardships.

It will be recalled that many stakeholders have raised issues with the levy and its timing by the Federal Government and subsequently urged the Govt to suspend the levy’s implementation for the sake of the populace.

A leading consulting firm, KPMG, has raised fundamental issues with the implementation of the cybersecurity levy, stating that no country can tax itself to prosperity and higher taxed do not lead to sustainable growth. According to the firm, the cybersecurity levy is unjustified under the current economic situation.

However, commenting on the cybersecurity levy, Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Senator Shehu Buba, said the cybersecurity levy was not targeted at individuals. According to him, the cybersecurity levy is designed to be applied to financial institutions and and Telecom companies and other corporate organizations.

If the Senator’s clarification is upheld it simply means that the CBN misunderstood and misapplied the levy. Evidence of this is equally seen in the very circular conveying the implementation of the levy addressed to financial institutions by the CBN. In the said circular, the CBN had made refence to the “business” without clarifying what the business refers to