Northern Elders oppose FIRS–France tax data deal, demand cancellation

From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja

The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has raised the alarm over a controversial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the French tax authority, Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP), warning that the deal threatens Nigeria’s economic sovereignty and national security.

In a strongly worded open letter to the Federal Government, the Senate and the House of Representatives, the elders described the agreement as “dangerous” and capable of exposing Nigeria’s most sensitive tax and economic data to foreign interests.

Speaking through its spokesperson, Prof Abubakar Jika Jiddere, the Forum said the MoU was not a mere technical partnership but “an unprotected gateway into the heart of Nigeria’s tax infrastructure.”

“Nigeria stands at a crossroads,” the elders warned. “This deal threatens our economic sovereignty, national security and dignity as an independent African nation.”

According to the Forum, allowing a foreign government access to Nigeria’s tax data could expose the country to economic espionage, mass surveillance, and future geopolitical blackmail.

The NEF recalled France’s long history of economic domination across parts of Africa, insisting Nigeria must not repeat the mistakes of other nations that later struggled to reclaim their economic independence.

“Wherever French influence has taken root, African countries have paid a heavy price,” Prof Jiddere said.

“Nigeria must not walk into the same trap with open eyes.”

The elders warned that with insecurity ravaging the country, the naira under pressure, unemployment on the rise, and foreign interests circling Nigeria’s digital space, this was not the time to surrender control of the country’s economic data.

“The FIRS–France deal is not aid. It is an entry — entry into our economic bloodstream,” the statement said.

The Forum also faulted what it described as legislative lapses, noting that data-sovereignty amendments could have stopped the agreement before it was signed.

It further criticised the neglect of Nigeria’s local technology ecosystem, pointing out that Nigerian companies have built world-class fintech and digital payment platforms capable of managing the country’s tax infrastructure.

Issuing what it called a final warning, the NEF cautioned against replacing colonialism with “digital colonialism” disguised as cooperation.

The group demanded the immediate termination of the MoU, insisting that Nigeria’s tax data must remain fully in Nigerian hands.

Among its key demands are cancellation of the FIRS–France MoU, engagement of only Nigerian-owned tech firms to manage tax systems, passage of data-sovereignty laws before the Nigeria Revenue Service begins operations in January 2026, and a total ban on foreign processing or storage of Nigeria’s tax data.

“The Northern Elders Forum will resist this deal with every moral, civic and constitutional tool available,” the elders declared.

“This is no longer a policy issue. It is a matter of national survival.”