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Mr. Peter Obi, the former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, has expressed his disapproval of the recently introduced cybersecurity levy.
He criticized President Bola Tinubu’s administration for focusing on exploiting a struggling economy rather than nurturing it back to health and prosperity.
Obi accused the government of implementing policies that not only worsen the financial situation of the citizens but also reduce the country’s economic competitiveness.
He argued that imposing a Cybersecurity Levy on Nigerians would further deplete their already dwindling capital, especially after the effects of the Naira devaluation and high inflation rates.
In a social media post on Wednesday, Obi questioned the transformation of the office of the National Security Adviser, NSA, into a revenue-generating entity.
The former governor of Anambra State emphasized that it is unreasonable to expect the suffering Nigerian population to individually finance all government activities.
He said:
“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.
“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?”
Obi expressed his dissatisfaction with the persistent power crisis in the country, highlighting that the national grid has collapsed a staggering 141 times in 11 years.
He emphasized that Nigeria’s power generation capacity is only 13,000 megawatts, while the demand stands at approximately 200,000 megawatts.
Furthermore, Obi pointed out that out of the 13,000 megawatts, only around 3,500 megawatts are accessible for households and businesses. This dire situation places Nigeria at the bottom in terms of per capita wattage worldwide.
In an article titled “The Collapsing Electricity Sector,” the Labour Party’s candidate expressed his concern about the imminent collapse of the Nigerian electricity supply industry, despite the efforts made over the past two decades to reform the sector.
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