The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has not reinstated the cybersecurity levy that was previously suspended.
The CBN had suspended the enactment of the cybersecurity levy following a decision by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
In a notice in May, the CBN mandated all banks in Nigeria to collect and remit a 0.5 percent cybersecurity levy to the office of the National Security Adviser.
However, the Nigerian government ordered the suspension of the levy amid outrage from citizens.
Despite the suspension, there have been reports of the apex bank reintroducing the levy.
However, the apex bank has denied reintroducing the levy amid outrage from Nigerians.
The denial was contained in its Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guidelines for Fiscal Years 2024-2025 circular.
The circular, released on September 17, reads in part:
“The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to certain instances of misinterpretation or misrepresentation of its biennial publication on Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guidelines, published on September 17, 2024.
“In response, the CBN has temporarily withdrawn the document to minimize the risk of any further misrepresentation.
“As stated explicitly in the document to guide stakeholders, the CBN reiterates that the publication is a compilation of previously issued policies and guidelines by the Bank up to a cut-off date, typically December 31 of the relevant year.
“Some recent media publications referencing aspects of the Guidelines refer to policy positions of the Bank issued prior to December 31, 2023, which have changed in light of revisions and updates in 2024.
“One example is the cybersecurity levy, which was suspended in May 2024, superseding the circular reported in the Guidelines.
“Certain technical aspects of the Guidelines have been widely misreported and misrepresented. For example, reports have mistakenly sought to link the fuel subsidy removal to external reserves. Such reports essentially missed the analytical basis for the original statement, which was intended to observe a potential risk that was to be mitigated by policy.
“More recently, policies of the Bank around the naira exchange rate and those of the fiscal authorities have positively altered the outlook of the subject in question.
“In summary, the Guidelines must primarily be viewed as a record of policies, circulars, and directives issued by the Bank up to the end of 2023. They are not new directives and should not be reported as such.
“The Bank will continue to provide clear monetary policy direction and advice for the overall good of the economy. We urge all stakeholders to seek clarification of information about the Bank before publishing.”
All the corrections made were grammatical, including the addition of proper capitalization and punctuation.
CBN to raise ₦50bn from cybersecurity levy
The Central Bank of Nigeria will be raising N50 billion by the end of 2024 from a 0.005 percent cybersecurity levy on electronic transactions.
The Head of Research, FMDQ Group Plc, Vincent Nwani disclosed in a statement.
His comments come as CBN in its latest document, Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guidelines for Fiscal Years 2024-2025 confirmed the implementation of the cybersecurity levy.
Reacting to the development, Nwani said, “The CBN is expected to raise N50bn from the cybersecurity levy by 2024.”
Data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System had revealed that electronic payments reached a combined total of N987 trillion between 2022 and 2023.
Applying the 0.005 percent levy to this total results in an estimated revenue of approximately N49.35 billion.
“For instance, we saw a remarkable 55 percent surge in the total electronic payments, from N387 trillion in 2022 to N600tn in 2023 and the 2024 figure is projected at N999.9tn.
“At 0.005 percent cyber security fees, the Nigerian government will earn N19.5 billion for 2022, N30bn for 2023; 2024 will be equivalent to N50bn [projected figure] from its citizens,” Nwani stated.
Recall that in a notice in May, the CBN mandated all banks in Nigeria to collect and remit a 0.5 percent cyber security levy to the office of the National Security Adviser.
However, amid outrage over the levy, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ordered its suspension.
