Northern Elders Demand Immediate End to FIRS–France Tax Data MoU

T The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has called for the immediate termination of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the French tax authority, Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP), warning that the agreement poses a serious threat to Nigeria’s economic sovereignty and national security.

In an open letter addressed to the Federal Government, the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Forum described the agreement as a “dangerous tax data arrangement” that could expose Nigeria’s most sensitive economic information to foreign control.

The letter, signed by NEF spokesperson, Professor Abubakar Jika Jiddere, said the MoU goes beyond technical cooperation and represents what the group termed “an unprotected gateway into the heart of Nigeria’s tax infrastructure.”

“The Northern Elders Forum writes today with grave concern and an overwhelming sense of patriotic duty,” the letter read. “Nigeria stands at a crossroads, one that threatens the very pillars of our economic sovereignty, national security and collective dignity as an independent African nation.”

Jiddere warned that the agreement would grant a foreign government access to Nigeria’s tax data, undermining the country’s economic independence and placing its fiscal future at risk.

“Yesterday’s signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between FIRS and the French tax authority is not a harmless technical collaboration,” he said. “It is a direct, unprotected gateway into the heart of Nigeria’s tax infrastructure, placing our most sensitive economic data into the hands of a foreign power.”

The Forum cautioned that France’s historical engagements in Africa have often resulted in economic manipulation, political pressure and long-term dependency, urging Nigeria not to repeat what it described as mistakes made by other African nations.

As part of its demands, NEF called on the Federal Government and the National Assembly to immediately terminate the FIRS–France MoU, ensure Nigeria’s tax data remains entirely under Nigerian control, and prohibit any foreign entity from processing or storing the country’s tax data.

The elders also demanded that only Nigerian-owned technology companies be contracted to build and manage Nigeria’s tax infrastructure and urged lawmakers to reintroduce and pass all data-sovereignty amendments before the Nigeria Revenue Service begins operations in January 2026.

“Nigeria must not walk into the same trap with open eyes,” Jiddere said. “With insecurity ravaging our communities, the naira under pressure, unemployment high and foreign interests circling our digital infrastructure, this is not the time to mortgage our national pride or hand over our economic soul to any foreign state.”

He added that surrendering control of tax data could expose the country to economic espionage, mass surveillance and geopolitical blackmail, as foreign actors could gain insight into Nigeria’s strategic sectors, revenue flows and investment patterns.

“Taxpayer data is national power,” Jiddere said. “Allowing foreign control over this data is a threat to national security. No serious country hands such power to another state.”

The Forum also criticised what it described as legislative lapses that allowed the MoU to be signed without parliamentary scrutiny, warning that Nigeria must not replace colonialism with what it called “digital colonialism” disguised as cooperation.