President Bola Tinubu has suspended the implementation of a 0.5 percent cybersecurity levy after it faced significant criticism.
The suspension was announced by Mohammed Idris, the minister of information and national orientation, following a meeting of the federal executive council (FEC) on Tuesday.
Idris stated that President Tinubu instructed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to halt the implementation and reassess the methods for its enforcement.
The cybersecurity levy, introduced by the CBN on May 6, required banks, mobile money operators, and payment service providers to start collecting the levy within two weeks.
This levy was part of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act 2024, which mandated a 0.5 percent levy on all electronic transactions. The collected funds were to be remitted to the national cybersecurity fund, managed by the office of the national security adviser (NSA).
Idris highlighted that the cybersecurity levy was extensively discussed during the FEC meeting, emphasizing that the president is sensitive to the concerns of Nigerians. On May 9, the House of Representatives also called for the CBN to withdraw the directive to financial institutions.
The House of Representatives passed a resolution during a plenary session, urging the CBN to retract the directive. This resolution followed a motion sponsored by Kingsley Chinda, a house minority leader, and 359 other lawmakers.
Chinda noted that the levy had caused public apprehension, with civil society organizations and citizens expressing their displeasure through traditional and social media, demanding a reversal of what they perceived as an imposed levy on Nigerians.
During the session, lawmakers described the circular from the CBN as ambiguous, further fueling the need for its suspension and review.
