Opposition to the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and France’s tax authority, Direction Générale des Finances Publiques, intensified at the weekend, as the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) separately demanded its immediate termination or full public disclosure, citing grave national security and sovereignty concerns.
In a strongly-worded open letter to the Federal Government and the 10th National Assembly, the NEF described the agreement as a “dangerous tax data pact” that could expose Nigeria’s most sensitive financial and economic information to foreign control. Signed by the Forum’s spokesperson, Prof. Abubakar Jiddere, the letter warned that the MoU goes beyond technical cooperation and risks opening Nigeria’s tax infrastructure to external influence.
According to the NEF, granting France access to Nigeria’s tax systems undermines economic independence and could expose the country to economic espionage, mass surveillance and geopolitical pressure. The Forum drew parallels with the historical experiences of several African countries where French influence over strategic systems led to long-term economic and political challenges.
“With insecurity ravaging communities, the Naira under pressure and unemployment rising, this is not the time to mortgage our national pride or hand over our economic soul to any foreign State”, the Forum stated, insisting that taxpayer data constitutes national power, and should remain fully under Nigerian control.
The NEF criticised the Federal Government for allegedly sidelining competent Nigerian-owned technology firms capable of managing the nation’s tax infrastructure, and blamed legislative gaps for allowing the MoU to be signed without parliamentary scrutiny. It urged the immediate termination of the agreement, the passage of data-sovereignty amendments before FIRS operations begin in January 2026, and an outright ban on foreign entities processing or storing Nigeria’s tax data.
Echoing similar concerns, the African Democratic Congress, (ADC) also faulted the agreement, warning that it endangers Nigeria’s data security and exposes strategic economic information to foreign exploitation. In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the manner in which the deal was reached raised “serious questions about transparency, national sovereignty and the protection of Nigerians’ data”.
While acknowledging the need to modernise Nigeria’s tax system ahead of the January 1, 2026 implementation of new tax policies, the ADC criticised what it described as a hurried and secretive process. The party questioned why the Federal Government failed to disclose the full terms of the agreement, engage the National Assembly, or clearly explain what France stands to gain from the deal.
The ADC also situated the controversy within the wider West African context, noting growing resistance to French influence across the region. It argued that Nigeria’s local content policy should prioritise domestic capacity, especially given the presence of globally recognised Nigerian service providers in fintech and digital infrastructure.
Both the NEF and ADC demanded that the Federal Government either publish the full details of the MoU, subject it to legislative scrutiny, and commission an independent assessment of its data security and sovereignty implications, or terminate it outright.
The MoU, signed by FIRS on December 10, 2025, is intended to support digital tax administration through tools such as AI-powered audits, automated compliance systems and real-time economic analytics. However, FIRS has insisted that the agreement is strictly for technical assistance and capacity-building, maintaining that Nigeria’s tax data sovereignty remains intact and that only aggregated and anonymised data would be shared.
Despite these assurances, critics insist the agreement poses existential risks, warning that the debate has moved beyond policy disagreements to what they describe as a matter of national survival.
