‘It’ll impoverish Nigerians’: Obi seeks cybersecurity levy reversal

The Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has called for the immediate reversal of the newly introduced cybersecurity levy by the Federal Government, saying it will further impoverish Nigerians.

Obi, a two-term former governor of Anambra State, described the cybersecurity levy as taxes too many and aimed at “milking a dying economy”.

He said this in a series of posts on his X (formerly Twitter) account on Wednesday, May 8, 2024.

Obi noted that instead of nurturing the recovery and growth of the economy, the government by multiple taxation is more interested in heaping more burden on citizens facing economic hardship.

The former governor stated: “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.

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“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 and 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 centre?

“And why should that purely national security office receive returns on a specific tax as stated in the new cybersecurity law?”

The Star