By Reuben Abati
The report that President Bola Tinubu has now ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to suspend the implementation of the proposed Cybersecurity Levy must come to many Nigerians as some sort of relief, but before we deal with the sense or non-sense of the levy itself, where does this leave the autonomy of the CBN? The Presidency has tried to walk back the narrative by saying that the directive is to the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), and not the CBN, but come off it, it is the CBN that gave a directive to the banks, the ONSA is to manage the fund, and receive 40 per cent of whatever is collected by the CBN. It is therefore not surprising that many civil society groups and experts have raised questions about the law, the process, and the policy. These include the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), KPMG, Afenifere, Northern Elders Forum, Coalition of Northern Groups, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CIPPE), BudgIT, SERAP and others. The CBN directive is based on Section 44 (2) of the Cybercrime Prevention and Prohibition Act of 2024, itself an amendment of the same law of 2015.
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