“External forces blackmailed Tinubu into signing cybersecurity levy policy”

• Dikwa asserted that Tinubu was blackmailed and intimidated by some powerful external forces into approving the widely condemned policy.

Elder Statesman and Dean of Borno Elders Forum, Prof. Khalifa Dikwa, has said that President Bola Tinubu’s administration was strong-armed into ratifying the cybersecurity levy policy initiated by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

Dikwa asserted that Tinubu was blackmailed and intimidated by some powerful external forces into approving the widely condemned policy.

He made the assertion in an interview on Channels Television on Wednesday, adding that the timing of the levy’s imposition is wrong.

Dikwa said: “These forces can’t be seen and rely on intimidation to get their bidding done while saying the Tinubu administration is blackmailed into making these policies.

“It is the wrong time to impose the cybersecurity levy. I’m not surprised by the directive because Nigeria is seemingly controlled remotely by external forces.”

The levy’s introduction has sparked widespread criticism and vehement opposition from Nigerians and civil society organisations.

The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, had described the cybersecurity levy as another burden on Nigerians.

Rejecting the policy, the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, in a statement, said such deductions directly affect the disposable income of workers and further erode the purchasing power of common citizens.