Amid the angry reactions by Nigerians over the proposed cybersecurity levy, the Chairman, Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Sen. Shehu Buba, backed the tax on Thursday, saying that the levy has many exceptions, mostly for poor Nigerians.
The implementation of the levy, proposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is a provision of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (Amendment) Act, 2024.
The senator listed the exemptions to include salary payments, intra-account transfers, loan disbursements and repayments, and other financial dealings.
Buba, who made his clarification just 24 hours after the House of Representatives asked the CBN not to implement the levy, stated that the Act was amended after a public hearing conducted by the Legislature where the views of various stakeholders were collated.
According to him, the law was passed unanimously by both arms of the National Assembly and forwarded to President Bola Tinubu for his assent.
He also noted the provisions for the levy had been made as far back 2015 but were not implemented because of ambiguities in interpretations and applications.
The senator spoke further, “The Cybercrimes Act of 2015 has provisions for imposing a cybersecurity levy since its enactment, but the vagueness of Section 44 led to different interpretations until the 2024 amendments.
“The levy is 0.5%, equivalent to half a per cent of the value of all electronic transactions by businesses specified in the Second Schedule to the Act.
“The amendments addressed crucial gaps in the Act and empowered the nation to implement the National Cybersecurity Programme effectively. They also seek to realign and empower the country to combat the inadequate funding and disruptive effects of cyber threats on national security and critical economic infrastructures.”
Umar further explained that the application of the levy would help to upgrade and protect the security of critical national infrastructure and safeguarding Nigeria’s cyberspace in the process.
The senator praised the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the CBN for initiating the levy, insisting that the advantages were more than the setbacks.
While maintaining that the committee’s mandate was to make laws that aligned with the aspirations of Nigerians, he appealed for public support, assuring that the policy would yield benefits for the citizens in the long run.
