The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has denied reinstating the cybersecurity levy that was previously suspended.
Recall that the Apex Bank 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 cyber security levy to the Office of the National Security Adviser.
However, the Federal 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.
The CBN’s denial was contained in its Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guidelines for Fiscal Years 2024-2025 circular.
The circular, released on Tuesday, 17 September, 2024 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“In response, the CBN has temporarily withdrawn the document to minimize the risk of any further misrepresentation.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.”
