Senate whip Ndume admits flawed cybersecurity levy law passed “in a hurry”

Ali Ndume, the chief whip of the Senate, publicly acknowledged shortcomings in the recently passed cybersecurity levy legislation, saying the bill was hurriedly passed.

This comes after President Tinubu suspended the 0.5% levy on electronic bank transactions following widespread public backlash.

Mr Ndume, senator of Borno South, said the urgency to address cybercrime overshadowed a thorough review process.

“I would have to say we were in a hurry and so we were not able to look at the nitty-gritty of the issue until the CBN made that announcement. Also, they didn’t look at it very well and you can see the reaction of Nigerians was not good,” he said Monday during an interview with Arise Television, according to Vanguard.

“Of course, it is expected because, looking at the situation we have found ourselves, with a lot of burden on the common man and low-income earners, it is not the intent of the government to add another burden on the poor man or Nigerians in general.”

Mr Ndume, a ranking senator, said he reviewed the law after public outcry and found lapses that need to be addressed.

One oversight was the ambiguity regarding who would bear the levy’s cost, announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria last week. While Senator Ndume claims the CBN circular placed the burden on institutions, the original law lacked this clarity.

Problem of cybercrime

Punch reported that President Bola Tinubu has asked the CBN to suspend the implementation of the law, a position Mr Ndume commended.

“What the president did by calling for the suspension of the cybersecurity levy, is something I expected from him because I have known him for a very long time and I know him to be a listening, responsive and reactive person,” he was quoted as saying.

“So, I am not surprised that he immediately ordered that it should be suspended. Secondly, it is good that the president has acted and so we will go back to the drawing table to look at the Act again.”

He said the government was in a hurry to address the problem of cybercrime.

“Cybercrime is an important part of security and that is why the government was in a hurry to look at the enabling law that was signed in 2015 and then strengthen it and give more powers to the institutions charged with that responsibility to ensure efficiency and address the serious cybercrime ravaging the country and spoiling our reputation and name,” Mr Ndume argued.