The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has berated opposition lawmakers in the National Assembly over its perceived silence on the controversial cybersecurity levy.

Naija News reports that on May 6, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directed banks and other financial institutions to implement a 0.5 per cent cybersecurity levy on electronic transfers.

Many Nigerians and groups have expressed their dissatisfaction, highlighting that banking transactions are becoming increasingly costly due to numerous charges.

Speaking on the the situation during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, the TUC President, Festus Usifo, questioned the silence of the opposition lawmakers in the National Assembly.

He lamented that the lawmakers have refused to take a stance on the situation.

Usifo accused the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), of making life more difficult for the Nigerian people.

He said, “Where are the opposition parties in the National Assembly? Where are the PDP, Labour Party, and NNPP members?”

“Even if the ruling party today wants to suffocate Nigerians and the opposition, you hear nothing from them. It is really that bad. This kind of attitude where we don’t see bills like this in the newspapers that there is going to be public hearings, and we don’t hear any advertisement on major television channels that there is going to be a public hearing. What are they doing with the budget of the National Assembly?”

According to him, the organised labour was not carried along by the lawmakers in the passage of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (Amendment) Act 2024.

[NaijaNews]