The Trade Union Congress, TUC, has issued a stark warning, threatening a massive protest that would paralyze the Nigerian economy if the Federal Government does not rescind the controversial cybersecurity levy, newly introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
The TUC in a statement signed by its President, Festus Osifo, on Wednesday slammed the directive by the CBN to banks imposing a 0.5 per cent cybersecurity levy on almost all electronic transactions.
This is after the Nigeria Labor Congress had heavily criticized the levy which it described as another burden on Nigerians.
The TUC said it is illogical that this is coming at a time that Nigerians are grappling with the high cost of living that is imposed by the devaluation of Naira, hyper hike in the cost of Petrol, supersonic increment in the cost of electricity tariff, etc.
The union said it is disturbed that since the inception of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration, government policies have brought pain, anguish and sorrow to Nigerians.
“So many policies of this government are not only imposing hardship on the downtrodden Nigerians but also businesses, as some of them are shutting down because of the unfriendly business environment.
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“Financial analysts have done a preliminary estimate using the 2023 online transfer volume in Nigeria that fell within these categories and put the value at over N2trn; what kind of cybercrime are we fighting with this humongous amount of money?
“This burden seems not to be enough as the government is poised to inflict further pain on the already battered Nigerians,” the TUC President said.
It lamented that account holders in Nigeria are already dealing with multiple taxation from both the Federal Government and the banks.
The TUC berated the National Assembly for “colluding” with “elements in the executive” to “exploit” the citizens they ought to be protecting.
Osifo said all that Nigerians are interested in right now is the urgent conclusion of discussions around the minimum wage and not a “vexatious policy”, the TUC urged the Federal Government to immediately direct the CBN to withdraw the circular to banks and cancel the levy forthwith.
It said that it will be left with no option but to mobilize all its members, stakeholders and indeed the entire masses “to embark on the immediate protest that would culminate into the total shutdown of the Nigerian economy as this is one exploitation too many.”
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