The previously suspended cybersecurity levy has not been reinstituted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
As a result of a Federal Executive Council (FEC) decision, the CBN has put the cybersecurity levy on hold.
The CBN ordered all Nigerian banks to gather and send a 0.5 percent cybersecurity charge to the National Security Adviser’s office in a notification published in May.
In response to public outcry, the Nigerian government did, however, order the fee to be suspended.
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There have been rumours that the apex bank will reinstate the fee in spite of the suspension.
Amidst outcry from Nigerians, the apex bank has refuted restoring the levy.
Its Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guidelines for Fiscal Years 2024–2025 circular contained the denial.
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.
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“In response, the CBN has temporarily withdrawn the document to minimize the risk of any further misrepresentation.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.
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“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.”
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Every edit, including the inclusion of appropriate punctuation and capitalisation, was grammatically correct.
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