The National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS) has announced plans to petition the National Assembly over the Federal Government’s renewed push to impose a 5% excise duty on telecommunications services.

The association, representing millions of telecom users in Nigeria, is set to meet on Wednesday to finalize its petition, urging lawmakers to halt any legislative approval of the proposed tax while a court case challenging its implementation is ongoing.

The case, currently before the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court, has been adjourned to March 13, 2025. NATCOMS President, Adeolu Ogunbanjo, told The newsmen on Monday that the petition is necessary to prevent the National Assembly from unknowingly passing the tax into law.

“We are meeting this Wednesday to finalize the arrangement to write the National Assembly. If we don’t inform them that there is a pending court case, the Assembly might unknowingly pass the bill into law. That would be disastrous for subscribers and the industry,” Ogunbanjo said.

NATCOMS has consistently criticized the proposed excise duty as excessive and detrimental to telecom users. Ogunbanjo noted that telecom services are already subject to over 40 different taxes, and adding another levy would significantly increase the financial burden on subscribers. The association’s National Secretary and Legal Adviser, Bayo Omotubora, described the tax as double taxation and unconstitutional.

“The case is before the Lagos High Court and has been adjourned to March 13, 2025. Until a decision is made, implementing this tax would be illegal and unconstitutional. The Federal Government must respect the judicial process,” Omotubora said.

The 5% excise duty is part of a broader tax reform initiative outlined in the proposed “Nigeria Tax Act.” The bill seeks to consolidate tax laws and impose taxes on various transactions, including telecom services regulated by the Nigerian Communications Commission.

Introduced in 2022 under former President Muhammadu Buhari, the tax faced public backlash, leading to its suspension in July 2023 by President Bola Tinubu. However, the government has recently revived the plan to boost revenue amidst economic challenges.

NATCOMS emphasized that the government must wait for the court’s decision before proceeding with the tax. “We are not just fighting for the legality of this tax but also to protect millions of Nigerians who rely on affordable telecom services,” Omotubora added.

The association’s petition to the National Assembly will highlight the ongoing legal battle and the economic implications of the proposed tax. “The Federal Government must respect the judicial process and suspend any action on this tax until the matter is resolved in court,” Ogunbanjo said.

NATCOMS has called on stakeholders to join its fight against the tax, describing it as an unnecessary burden on telecoms subscribers and the industry.

Meta on Tuesday said fears that artificial intelligence would unleash a torrent of misinformation to deceive voters around the world did not come true as elections played out around the world this year.

Defenses against deceptive influence campaigns at the networking giant’s platform held firm, with no evidence that such coordinated efforts got much attention online, Meta president of global affairs Nick Clegg told reporters.

“I don’t think the use of generative AI was a particularly effective tool for them to evade our trip wires,” Clegg said of those behind coordinated disinformation campaigns.

“The delta between what was expected and what appeared is quite significant.”

Meta says that most of the cover influence operations it has disrupted in recent years were carried out by actors from Russia, Iran and China.

Meta has no intent of lowering its guard, however, since generative AI tools are expected to become more sophisticated and more prevalent.

Clegg referred to 2024 as the biggest election year ever, with some 2 billion people estimated to have gone to the polls in scores of countries around the world.

“People were understandably concerned about the potential impact that generative AI would have on elections during the course of this year,” Clegg said during a briefing with journalists.

“There were all sorts of warnings about the potential risks of things like widespread deep fakes and AI enabled disinformation campaigns.”

Preventing the malicious use of generative AI in elections became an industry-wide effort, according to Clegg.

Clegg said he was not privy to whether Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and president-elect Donald Trump discussed the tech platform’s content moderation policies, when Zuckerberg was invited to Trump’s Florida resort last week.

Trump has been critical of Meta, accusing the platform of censoring politically conservative viewpoints.

“Mark is very keen to play an active role in the debates that any administration needs to have about maintaining America’s leadership in the technological sphere…and particularly the pivotal role that AI will play in that area,” Clegg said.

Clegg added that hindsight has led Meta to conclude that it “overdid” content moderation during the Covid-19 pandemic and that the tech company is “redoubling” efforts to improve the precision with which it targets content for removal based on its policies.

“Our content rules evolve and change all the time,” Clegg said.

“We will definitely continue to work on all of that, mindful of the fact that we’re never going to get it perfectly right and to everybody’s satisfaction.”

AFP

Interswitch Group, a leading integrated payments and digital commerce company in Africa, has been unveiled as key Sponsor of the Committee of e-Business Industry Heads (CeBIH) 2024 Conference.

The conference which started yesterday at the Eko Convention Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, explores the theme “Payment System Vision 2030: Navigating Contemporary Issues in Driving Future Growth.”

CeBIH is made up of top-tier electronic business practitioners from all banks in Nigeria, with the primary objective of promoting electronic banking services that align with global best practices.

The CeBIH 2024 Conference will play a pivotal role in advancing the goals of Payment System Vision (PSV) 2030 by evaluating progress, highlighting key milestones, and addressing challenges within the payment ecosystem.

The PSV 2030 is a strategic framework developed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to guide the evolution of the country’s payment systems over the next decade. Building on the success of previous initiatives like the Payment System Vision 2020, PSV 2030 aims to further advance financial inclusion, drive innovation in the payments sector, and support the broader digital economy in Nigeria.

In a keynote address titled, “The Impact of Globalization and the Gig Economy on Inclusive Payment Systems in Nigeria”, Mitchell Elegbe, Founder and Group Managing Director, Interswitch, stated: “We are proud to support CeBIH and the 2024 CeBIH annual conference as it aligns perfectly with our vision of building seamless, secure, and future-ready payment systems for Africa.

“This partnership highlights Interswitch’s commitment to drive innovation and advance the payments ecosystem.

“Together, we aim to address the evolving challenges in digital payments and contribute to the development of a robust, inclusive, and sustainable digital economy across Africa.”

The conference which ends today will generate policy recommendations aimed at creating a supportive environment for the growth and sustainability of Nigeria’s payment ecosystem.

Interswitch’s sponsorship of the 2024 CeBIH annual conference underlines its ongoing commitment to drive innovation and shape the future of payments in Nigeria.