The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has denied reintroducing the controversial cybersecurity levy that was previously suspended.
The denial was contained in a statement titled “Clarification On The Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, And Exchange Policy Guidelines For Fiscal Years 2024 – 2025 (Monetary Policy Circular No. 45) released by the apex bank on Friday, September 20, 2024.
On May 6, the apex bank directed all commercial, merchant, non-interest and payment service banks, mobile money operators, and payment service providers to charge a 0.5 percent cybersecurity levy on electronic transfers.
The CBN later withdrew the directive on May 20, essentially suspending the proposed cybersecurity levy on electronic transfers.
However, reports had claimed that the apex bank reinstated the levy, quoting the CBN’s “Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guidelines for the Fiscal Years 2024-2025”.
Clarifying the controversy in a statement on Friday, the apex bank said the guideline was issued before December 31, 2023, adding that its stance on the suspension has not been revised.
“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“In response, the CBN has temporarily withdrawn the document to minimize risk of any further misrepresentation.
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“As is stated explicitly in the document to guide stakeholders, the CBN reiterates that the publication is a compilation of previously issued policies and guidelines issued by the Bank up to a cut-off date, typically December 31 of the relevant year.
“In the light of these clarifications, we ask stakeholders to note the following: Some recent media publications referencing aspects of the Guidelines refer to policy positions of the Bank issued prior to 31st December 2023, which have changed in the light of revisions and updates in 2024.
“One example is the Cyber Security 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” the statement reads.
By: Babajide Okeowo
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