The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the Bola Tinubu administration of jeopardising Nigeria’s data sovereignty through a controversial digital tax reform agreement signed with the French government, warning it could hand sensitive national information to foreign interests.
The deal, signed last week in Abuja between the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Government of France, aims to increase Nigeria’s tax efficiency through digital reforms and information exchange.
The FIRS said the partnership would modernise revenue administration and expand Nigeria’s capacity to tax the digital economy.
But critics argue that the pact gives France backdoor access to Nigeria’s fiscal data and economic infrastructure, a potential risk to national sovereignty and security.
In a statement released on Sunday, December 14, and posted on his official X handle, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the ADC had “carefully reviewed expert opinions” on the agreement signed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on behalf of the federal government and concluded that the deal was “potentially dangerous to Nigeria’s data and economic security.”
“Quite significantly, we note the overwhelming concern that the agreement potentially endangers Nigeria’s data security and exposes strategic national economic information to foreign exploitation,” Abdullahi said.
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He faulted the FIRS for secretly packaging the deal, saying, “Attempts by the FIRS to explain these concerns away have failed to convince anyone that the agreement was done in the nation’s best interest, especially given the manner in which it was hurriedly and secretly packaged.”
Abdullahi questioned what France stands to gain, saying the arrangement lacks transparency and legislative oversight.
“Why did the Federal Government of Nigeria enter into a serious agreement such as this… without open engagement with the National Assembly, and without any meaningful effort to carry Nigerians along?” he asked.
The ADC spokesman also cast the issue in geopolitical terms, accusing the Tinubu government of reviving colonial dependency.
“Across West Africa, France’s influence is being questioned… Yet under the Bola Tinubu administration, Nigeria appears to have become more Francophone than the French,” he added.
Calling for urgent transparency, Abdullahi said, “The details of this closed-door arrangement must be published for all to see, or be terminated.”
He insisted that tax reform “should strengthen national capacity, not outsource economic intelligence to foreign actors.”