The Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive to banks to deduct 0.5% levy from every electronic transfers for cyber-security, has been flayed by the Peoples Redemption Party.
A press statement signed by the Party’s national publicity secretary Comrade Muhammed Ishaq, said Tuesday that the move by the Federal government of President Bola Tinubu amounts to insensitivity, against the background financial woes being suffered by Nigerians.
“This ill-timed and insensitive policy, set to be implemented within the next two weeks, will only serve to exacerbate the financial woes of Nigerian citizens who are already grappling with economic hardship,” said Comrade Ishaq.
“This new levy will have a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable sections of society, including hardworking individuals, families, and small business owners. It is particularly distressing to note that the funds collected will directly benefit the National Security Adviser’s office without any obligation for transparency or accountability in the utilization of these funds.
The PRP questions the rationale behind this policy, as it appears to be yet another instance of the government extracting additional resources from its citizens without providing any tangible benefits in return. The ongoing struggles of Nigerians, including skyrocketing food inflation, fuel scarcity, depreciating currency, and general insecurity, make it clear that the imposition of this levy is heartless, callous and unjust.
“We call upon the CBN and the Nigerian Government to immediately rescind this policy and instead focus on implementing measures that genuinely address the pressing concerns of the citizens.”
Also speaking on the development the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project gave the Federal Government 48 hours to withdraw the 0.5% ‘cyber-security levy’ imposed on Nigerians.
In a statement on its official X handle on Tuesday, SERAP threatened to drag the Federal Government to court if the “grossly unlawful” directive by the Central Bank of Nigeria is not withdrawn.
SERAP said, “The Tinubu administration must immediately withdraw the grossly unlawful CBN directive to implement section 44 of the Cybercrime Act 2024, which imposes a 0.5% ‘cyber-security levy’ on Nigerians. We’ll see in court if the directive is not withdrawn within 48 hours.’’
The CBN had in a circular on Monday directed banks to levy a 0.5 per cent cyber-security charge on electronic transactions effective May 20, 2024.
“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 is to be remitted to the National Cyber-security Fund which shall be administered by the Office of the National Security Adviser,” the CBN circular indicated.
The CBN clarified that the levy would be separately “reflected in the customer’s account” as “Cyber-security Levy” and “applied at the point of electronic transfer origination, then deducted and remitted by the financial institution.”
