President Bola Tinubu has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to suspend the implementation of cybersecurity levy on electronic transactions.
The PUNCH quoted presidential sources on Sunday as revealing this to it due to the backlash that has greeted its introduction, including from the House of Representatives which described it as “ambiguous.”
“He (President Tinubu) has asked the CBN to hold off on that policy and ordered a review,” the anonymous source revealed. “I would have said he ordered the CBN, but that is not appropriate because the CBN is autonomous. But he has asked the CBN to hold off on it and review things again.”
Another source who corroborated the claim, said the cybersecurity levy was introduced by the Goodluck Jonathan administration and was only being implemented now.
“If you look at it, the law predates the Tinubu administration. It was enacted in 2015 and signed by Goodluck Jonathan. It is only being implemented now,” the source said.
“You know he (Tinubu) was not around when that directive was being circulated. And he does not want to present his government as being insensitive. As it is now, the CBN has held off the instruction to banks to start charging people. So, the President is sensitive. His goal is not to just tax Nigerians like that. That is not his intention. So, he has ordered a review of that law.”
Meanwhile, Vice President Kashim Shettima, has revealed why the Tinubu administration is heaping more taxes on Nigerians with the implementation of various tax reforms.
