The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has said the Cybersecurity Levy recently introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will compound the woes of citizens.
Describing the CBN order as ill-timed, anti-people and insensitive, the umbrella body of Nigerian students therefore called for its reversal, failing which the apex bank would face the wrath of the association.
President of NANS, Lucky Emonefe, stated this in an interview with our reporter.
The Guardian reports that besides the 0.5% Cyber security tax, other bank-related charges in Nigeria include: 1percent Stamp Duty, 7.5 percent Value Added Tax (VAT), 1percent FGN Tax, Deposit Levies, Commission on Turnover CoT, N4 SMS charges, Account Maintenance as well as Automated Teller Machine (ATM) charges.
According to the NANS President, the new levy would worsen an already bad situation, as Nigerians are grappling with several challenges.
He promised to lead a protest if the directive is not reversed.
He said: “It’s anti-people. People are passing through a lot of things in this hard economy. Minimum wage has not been fully implemented by different governors. Now they are coming up with another levy.
“It is unacceptable, anti-people. And NANS as a body rejects it in its entirety. If they refuse to withdraw it, we are going to the streets. We are not wasting time on this one. And I will personally lead from the front.
“People should feel for the masses. The masses are suffering. The President of Nigeria is trying to turn things around and people will just come and bring in things that will thwart the efforts of the government trying to revamp the economy. Those who introduced it should reverse it or face the wrath of Nigerian students”.
The NANS President lamented that it will reverse the gains already achieved with the cashless policy, as Nigerians will return to the old habits of keeping raw cash in their homes.
Latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that Nigeria’s inflation rate increased to 33.2 percent for the month of March 2024.
This represents 1.5percent points increase from the 31.7percent recorded in February 2024.
CBN on Monday mandated all commercial, merchant, non-interest and payment service banks, as well as mobile money operators to implement a 0.5 per cent cybersecurity levy on electronic transfers within the next two weeks.
The directive is contained in a circular signed by Chibuzor Efobi, Director of Payments System Management and Haruna Mustafa, Director of Financial Policy and Regulation.
The apex bank said the deduction and collection of the levy was a sequel to the enactment of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Amendment Act of 2024.
