The Northern Elders Forum has called on President Bola Tinubu to revoke the memorandum of understanding signed between the Federal Inland Revenue Service and France’s Direction Générale des Finances Publiques, warning that the agreement poses risks 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 MoU as “dangerous” and urged urgent intervention to halt its implementation.
Abubakar Jika Jiddere, spokesperson of the NEF, said the agreement could allow foreign interests access to Nigeria’s sensitive tax and economic information.
According to him, the deal goes beyond technical cooperation and amounts to “an unprotected gateway into the heart of Nigeria’s tax infrastructure”.
“Nigeria stands at a crossroads. This deal threatens our economic sovereignty, national security and dignity as an independent African nation,” the elders said.
The forum cautioned that allowing a foreign government access to Nigeria’s tax data could expose the country to economic espionage, large-scale surveillance and geopolitical pressure.
It also cited France’s historical economic influence in parts of Africa, warning Nigeria against repeating what it described as costly mistakes made by other countries on the continent.
“Wherever French influence has taken root, African countries have paid a heavy price. Nigeria must not walk into the same trap with open eyes,” the elders added.
The NEF noted that the agreement was reached at a time when Nigeria is grappling with worsening insecurity, pressure on the naira, rising unemployment and growing foreign interest in the country’s digital space.
“The FIRS–France deal is not aid. It is an entry — entry into our economic bloodstream,” the statement said.
The forum criticised what it termed legislative oversights, arguing that strong data-sovereignty safeguards could have prevented the agreement from being finalised.
It further faulted what it described as the sidelining of Nigeria’s local technology sector, insisting that domestic firms have the capacity to manage the nation’s tax infrastructure.
The elders warned against replacing traditional colonialism with “digital colonialism” under the guise of international cooperation.
The NEF demanded the immediate cancellation of the MoU and insisted that Nigeria’s tax data must remain entirely under Nigerian control.
It maintained that only Nigerian-owned technology companies should be entrusted with managing the country’s tax systems.
The forum also called for the enactment of comprehensive data-sovereignty laws ahead of the commencement of operations by the Nigeria Revenue Service in January 2026 and demanded a complete ban on the 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. This is no longer a policy issue. It is a matter of national survival,” the elders said.
