BY CHUKS COLLINS, AWKA
DESPITE the suspension of its implementation, more knocks have continued to trail the cybersecurity levy on certain bank transactions imposed by the Federal Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with an industrialist and investment expert, Prince Chukwukadibia Moneke Jonathan, describing it as one anti-people policy too many.
Though President Bola Tinubu has ordered its suspension, the massive bitter reactions that followed its imposition at a time many Nigerians are living below poverty line proved that the pangs of the economic policy of the administration has dealt heavy blow on citizens.
At a news conference in Awka, the Anambra State capital, Jonathan said: “I am vehemently opposed to the levy. I have never seen or heard why the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA) is turned into a tax or revenue agent of the government.
“It was shameful that some duty bearers in government and the National Assembly suddenly became self-appointed trumpeters of the new unpopular policy.”
Jonathan, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Anambrian Properties Limited, with business interest in agriculture, estate development and management, oil and gas, wondered why most government officials see their offices as personal estate.
He listed other harsh economic policies of the Tinubu administration that have reduced the cash holdings and take home pay of citizens to include the removal of fuel subsidy, increase of electricity tariff, categorisation of electricity supply to rich and poor citizens, forcing citizens to pay for darkness in the face of abysmal performance of the electricity distribution companies (DisCos), forcing citizens to pay for electricity transformers, cables, meters and general installation/maintenance services, whereas such items are categorised as property of the DisCos, and many others.
The businessman urged government to use recovered looted funds to take care of the wellbeing of the people, regretting that there are still so many leakages begging to be plugged in revenue yielding federal agencies, such as the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), etc.
Rather than looking into these areas critically, the federal government keeps coming up with more means of squeezing the little remaining funds from the citizens, with no official coming up with policies to better the lot of or put smiles on the faces of citizens.
Jonathan called on government to drop the idea of death sentence for hard drug users and dealers, saying with proper rehabilitation, most of them would recovered, saying rehabilitated drug users can eventually become notable, influential investors or leaders in their communities.
Government at all levels, Jonathan counseled, should being to invest in agriculture, sports and industrialisation, so as to create massive employment opportunities for the youth and to take their minds away from drugs, restiveness, idleness and other antisocial conducts.
