The information and national orientation minister, Mohammed Idris, on Tuesday announced that the presidential directive was a response to public backlash against the policy.
President Bola Tinubu has instructed the Central Bank of Nigeria to halt the implementation of the 0.5 percent cybersecurity levy.
The information and national orientation minister, Mohammed Idris, on Tuesday announced that the presidential directive was a response to public backlash against the policy.
Idris stated that President Tinubu directed the central bank to temporarily pause the enforcement of the cybersecurity levy and reassess its application methods.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Senator Shehu Umar Buba, had previously clarified that the cybersecurity levy was not aimed at individuals or bank customers.
The Senator, who sponsored the amendment bill, told Economic Confidential that the levy targeted financial institutions and telecom companies, the sectors most susceptible to financial crimes and cyber fraud, to improve cybersecurity measures and national security in the country.
He emphasized that the relevant section of the Cybercrime Act was clear about the entities required to pay the levy, not the citizens.
“The Act is explicit about who must pay the levy, not Nigerian citizens or individuals. The relevant Section of the Cybercrime Act 2015 lists the businesses required to pay the levy: telecommunications companies, Internet Service Providers, Banks, Insurance Companies, the Nigerian Stock Exchange, and other Financial Institutions,” he said.
“The organisations in these sectors have been listed in previous circulars by the Central Bank of Nigeria, especially in 2018. The new circular by the CBN further provided many exemptions.”
Senator Buba also detailed the amount payable as a cybersecurity levy.
“It is either 0.005 or 0.5% mathematically. The figure in the principal act was 0.005 as a fraction, which was converted to the percentage that became 0.5% in the amendment. Therefore, the figures in fractions and percentages are the same,” he said.
