Business
LCCI calls for withdrawal of cybersecurity levy
By Seyi Babalola
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), has called for the Withdrawn of the imposition of the 0.5 percent Cybersecurity Levy ordered by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to be deducted from electronic transactions of customers by the banks in the country and urged for more consultations with critical stakeholders.
The CBN had in a circular on Monday directed commercial banks and other financial institutions to start charging a 0.5 percent cybersecurity levy on Nigerians’ banking transactions after two weeks.
The apex bank, however, listed 16 categories of accounts that were exempted from the taxation.
However, Dr. Chinyere Almona, FCA, the Director-General
Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry, in a statement on Tuesday in Lagos said the implementation of the Cybersecurity Levy should be withdrawn noting that more consultations with critical stakeholders should be made to look into the issue.
Chinyere also stated that with this directive, individuals and businesses will be burdened with an additional levy amidst unsettled performance crises with power supply after the recently reviewed electricity tariffs.
“Unfortunately, the upward review of the electricity tariff has not brought about a commensurate boost in power supply to justify the additional costs to individuals and businesses. We urge the government to reconsider the implementation of this directive as its timing is wrong, and the justification is unclear. This directive should be withdrawn while we call for more consultations with critical stakeholders, she stated.
Parts of the statement read thus:
“At a time when government revenues are at record levels from higher crude prices, higher revenues accrued to the Federal Allocation Account, and saved resources from the stoppage of subsidies, we expect to see projects created to enhance the living standard of the people as a dividend of democracy for the sacrifices made by Nigerians. In the face of biting inflation that has continued to weaken the purchasing power of consumers and with companies burdened with a rising cost of production, any further imposition of additional cost burden will slow down economic activities and drag our economic growth drive.
“We believe that since the collection of this levy cannot guarantee the protection of payers from cyber-attacks, it is difficult to justify its collection at this time. In the same vein, the collection approach with some exemptions can create confusion regarding what transactions really qualify for the exemptions.
“Implementing this directive can gradually encourage some people to return to holding cash to avoid paying the levy. This can negatively impact the achievement already recorded with the cashless policy.
“As we advance, we urge the government to work towards amending the enabling law to reflect current realities, initiate programmes that reflate the economy, and invest more in digital infrastructure to support business operations. The directive that the remittance of this levy should go to the Office of National Security Adviser suggests that the funds may not be used to enhance our cybersecurity architecture to guarantee cyber-safety for technology users in Nigeria. We also urge the government to harmonize its tax initiatives with the work done by the Presidential Committee on Tax and Fiscal Reforms to prevent multiple taxations and poor coordination of the expected new tax regime.”
Federal Government is to benefit from a $500 million loan facility from the World Bank for the Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity (HOPE) project in the country.
Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, made this known during a courtesy visit on him by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission Chief for Nigeria, Mr. Axel Schimmelpfennig
The loan facility, according to the minister, will increase the availability and effectiveness for financing for basic education and primary health care in the various states of the federation.
The fund, he said, will enhance transparency and accountability for basic education and primary health care in addition to improving recruitments, deployments and better performance management of teachers.
While appreciating the support of the World Bank, Bagudu elucidated that the Nigerian Constitution is the legal framework that provides the rules and procedures that guides the budget process in addition to empowering the federal and state governments to make expenditures in the preceding year for the purpose of meeting expenditure necessary to carry on the services of the government.
“This expenditure can continue for a period not exceeding six months or until the coming into operation of the law as can be seen on Chapter 5, Part 2 Section 122 of the Nigerian Constitution” he said
Bagudu explained further that the reforms embarked on by the Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration were aimed at developing and implementing economic and tax reforms that will guarantee more functional Public Financial Management (PFM) systems in the country.
“The economic reforms are necessary decisions to put the Nigerian economy on the right track”he explained
He assured the IMF Team that though Nigeria is experiencing a number of challenges such as hardship of citizens as a result of removal of fuel subsidy, floating of foreign exchange, electricity reforms that distributed citizens into bands, Nigeria is on course to economic recovery.
In a statement, the minister appreciated the willingness of the IMF to support Nigeria but however called for more support in the area of resource mobilisation from multinational partners in order for government to provide developments in all sectors of the economy.
Earlier, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission Chief for Nigeria, Mr. Axel Schimmelpfennig said he was in the country to have interactions with the minister on the workings of the Nigerian budgeting process with particular emphasis on the simultaneous implementation of the 2023/2024 budgets and supplementary budgets in the same year in preparation for the publication of the 2025 annual report of the World Bank.
Schimmelpfennig welcomed the tax reforms of the federal government as increased revenue generation will ensure more developments for Nigerian citizens and thus promised the country of more IMF support for Nigeria’s developmental needs.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Dr. Vitalis Emeka Obi, briefed the team on the ministry’s role in co-ordinating Nigeria’s development planning and budgeting processes. The Permanent Secretary emphasised that 2025 promises to be a year of more rapid investments.
DailySun
The Nigerian government said that it has invested over $450 million in the development of the country’s compressed natural gas value chain.
According to NAN, the Project Director of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative, PCNGi, Michael Oluwagbemi, disclosed this on Monday at the 9th Edition of the Nigeria Energy Forum, NEF 2024, in Lagos.
Oluwagbemi, who was represented by Tosin Coker, the Head of Commercial at PCNGi, emphasised that the investment spans critical areas of the CNG infrastructure, including the establishment of mother stations, daughter stations, refuelling stations, and conversion centres across the country.
“The Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGi) on Monday said that it had invested more than 450 million U.S. dollars in the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) value chain.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, says the new Port Harcourt refinery is over 90 per cent completed.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari, stated this on Monday when labour leaders from the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, visited the facility in Rivers State.
Gatekeeper recalls that After a long delay involving at least seven missed deadlines, NNPC finally activated the 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) phase one of the Port Harcourt oil refinery.
The rehabilitation process for the total 210,000 bpd refinery began in 2021 after the federal government secured a $1.5 billion contract to fix the facility, which had been left decrepit for years.
NNPC had initially failed to make public the litres of petrol, diesel, jet fuel, and naphtha the refinery will roll out, in negation of global best practices.
However, citing public criticism, the national oil company later said it was refining 1.4 million litres of petrol per day, an extremely low figure by all estimations.
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