President Bola Tinubu has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to temporarily suspend the implementation of the 0.5 percent cybersecurity levy in response to public outcry and opposition.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, announced the suspension of the levy on Tuesday.
President Tinubu has instructed the CBN to review the methods for the application of the levy following widespread concerns.
The levy was introduced by the CBN on May 6, mandating all banks, mobile money operators, and payment service providers to commence implementation within two weeks.
This levy was part of the Cybercrime (prohibition, prevention, etc) (Amendment) Act 2024, which approved a 0.5 percent levy on the value of all electronic transactions to be collected and remitted to the national cybersecurity fund overseen by the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA). Minister Idris assured that the president is sensitive to the concerns of Nigerians and that the cybersecurity levy was thoroughly discussed at the FEC meeting.
Similarly, on May 9, the House of Representatives passed a resolution for the CBN to withdraw the directive to financial institutions following the adoption of a motion sponsored by Kingsley Chinda, a House minority leader, and 359 other lawmakers.
