A lawyer and erstwhile spokesperson of the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organisation, Daniel Bwala, has urged Nigerians to adjust to the policies of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
His position followed Monday’s announcement of the implementation of the cybersecurity levy on transactions by the federal government.
Announcing the new policy, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directed all banks to charge a 0.5 per cent cybersecurity levy on all electronic transactions within the country, taking effect two weeks from May 6, that is May 20 to be precise.
The CBN had said: “The levy shall be applied at the point of electronic transfer origination, then deducted and remitted by the financial institution. The deducted amount shall be reflected in the customer’s account with the narration, ‘Cybersecurity Levy’.”
…Bwala begs
Featuring Wednesday on Channels TV, the ex-Atiku’s spokesperson submitted that Tinubu was not insensitive to the plights of Nigerians.
He said: “It depends on who is assessing; what is the motive behind the assessment. Just like we would have water in the bottle, someone says it is half full another says it half empty. But what we should be generally looking at are the numbers. Also looking at the context and perspective from which we look at things.
“Nobody, I think, is in doubt about the fact that when the President took that hard decision, which is a necessary decision, it is not a convenient decision, that there must be a temporary hardship; there must be a period like period of childbirth; there must be a period of inconveniences; there must be a period of personal sacrifices.
“When you are confronted with a period like that, what is required of you is adjustment, because they say trouble doesn’t always last. You will not be in that situation forever. But you will need to adjust. This is the basis of life.
“I don’t think the President is denying the fact that this is a period in the lives of Nigerian people where things are hard. He has said it over and over again.
…Levy ’ll push more Nigerians into poverty – Obi
But in counter argument, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, said the levy was ill-conceived.
Tweeting on his X handle Wednesday, the former Anambra state governor said: “The introduction of yet another tax, in the form of Cybersecurity Levy, on Nigerians who are already suffering severe economic distress is further proof that the government is more interested in milking a dying economy instead of nurturing it to recovery and growth.
“This does not only amount to multiple taxation on banking transactions, which are already subject to various other taxes including stamp duties but negates the Government’s avowed commitment to reduce the number of taxes and streamline the tax system.
“The imposition of a Cybersecurity Levy on bank transactions is particularly sad given that the tax is on the trading capital of businesses and not on their profit hence will further erode whatever is left of their remaining capital, after the impact of the Naira devaluation high inflation rate.
“It is inconceivable to expect the suffering citizens of Nigeria to separately fund all activities of the government.
“Policies such as this not only impoverish the citizens but make the country’s economic environment less competitive.
“At a time when the government should be reducing taxes to curb inflation, the government is instead introducing new taxes. And when did the office of the NSA become a revenue-collecting center?
“And why should that purely national security office receive returns on a specific tax as stated in the new cybersecurity law?”
…TUC rejects 0.5% levy on electronic transactions
In similar vein, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Wednesday said in a statement by its president, Comrade Festus Osifo, that government must give a “marching order to the CBN to immediately withdraw the circular and cancel the planned levy forthwith.”
“The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has received with a rude shock the recent directive by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in a circular to banks imposing a 0.5 percent cybersecurity levy on almost all electronic transactions. It is indeed illogical that this is coming at a time when Nigerians are grappling with the high cost of living that is imposed by the devaluation of Naira, hyper hike in the cost of Petrol, supersonic increment in the cost of electricity tariff, etc.
“We are quite disturbed that since the inception of this administration, its policies have brought pain, anguish, and sorrow to Nigerians. Whereas a bank account holder in Nigeria today is currently charged stamp duty, transfer fee, VAT on transfer fee, and all forms of account maintenance levies by both government and the banks; this burden seems not to be enough as the government is poised to inflict further pain on the already battered Nigerians. So many policies of this government are not only imposing hardship on the downtrodden Nigerians but also on businesses, as some of them are shutting down because of the unfriendly business environment.
“The National Assembly that ought to be the bastion of democracy and the protector of the citizens oftentimes engages in collusion with elements within the executive to exploit the people. How can such an obnoxious law see the light of day in a truly people-oriented legislative house? This is indeed a conspiracy of the oppressors against the masses and citizens of this country and it must be resisted by all well-meaning Nigerians.
“Financial analysts have done a preliminary estimate using the 2023 online transfer volume in Nigeria that fell within these categories and put the value at over N2 trillion; what kind of cybercrime are we fighting with this humongous amount of money? This ugly development will further encourage people to hoard cash at home, reduce financial inclusion, increase poverty, and exacerbate the misery index.
“The cost of living is at an all-time high, food inflation is biting, all contributing to the miserability of Nigerians. This act is viewed as a deliberate plot to continue to drain Nigerians of their hard-earned money and we kick against this vehemently.
“All Nigerians are interested in right now is the urgent conclusion of discussions around the minimum wage and not a vexatious policy that is further reducing the already depleted disposable income of the masses and indirectly ridiculing the gain which the minimum wage would have brought to the people when concluded.
“We call on the federal government to give a marching order to the Central Bank of Nigeria to immediately withdraw the circular and cancel the planned levy forthwith; failure of which we will be left with no option than to mobilize all our members, stakeholders and indeed the entire masses to embark on the immediate protest that would culminate into the total shutdown of the Nigerian economy as this is one exploitation too many. Enough is enough; Nigerians must breathe! This extortion must stop,” said the TUC.
