The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) has kicked against the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the French Directorate Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFP) on digital transformation and information exchange.
The opposition party also frowned at the appointment of Xpress Payment Solutions Limited as the official Treasury Single Account (TSA) collecting agent of the federal government revenue.
Its National Chairman, Falalu Bello in a statement issued Monday described the signing of an MoU by the FIRS with DGFP as a reckless act of outsourcing Nigeria’s tax data management to a foreign government.
He maintained that it posed grave threats to the country’s sovereignty, economy, and national security.
Falalu noted: “Despite the public statement by the FIRS defending the MoU, our concerns and objections regarding the agreement remain fully valid until the content of the MoU is made public.
“We believe such assurances do not mitigate the inherent risks of relinquishing control over Nigeria’s critical fiscal data to a foreign entity.
“Any nation that cedes control of its tax data to foreign entities risks becoming a puppet in the global financial system.
‘Such dependency erodes Nigeria’s economic independence and undermines our ability to craft policies that serve our people’s interests.
“No country with a sovereign future willingly subjects its fiscal backbone to external control.”
Falalu maintained that foreign-controlled digital systems open the door to mass surveillance, digital exploitation, and potential misuse of sensitive Nigerian data.
He noted that it also exposes citizens and institutions to espionage, digital colonization, and economic sabotage—threatening our national security and integrity.
Falalu said: “Real-time visibility into Nigeria’s thriving sectors and struggling industries gives France, an external power, unwarranted leverage in future trade negotiations, investments, and loan agreements.
“No self-respecting nation should hand over its tax infrastructure to a foreign power, risking geopolitical blackmail and economic subjugation.”
Falalu pointed out that the PRP viewed the actions of the APC administration of Bola Tinubu as both retrogressive and neo-colonialist, eroding the sovereignty of the Nigerian state and exposing the financial data of Nigerians and companies to the worst of colonial powers that Africa has seen—France.
“We vehemently oppose such a move. The full implementation of Nigeria’s tax reforms must remain entirely in Nigerian hands. Foreign entities must have no access to Nigerian tax data, financial transactions, or digital records. “Homegrown institutions such as NIBSS, Flutterwave, PayStack, Interswitch, and others should be contracted to develop and manage our tax technology.
“All foreign-led proposals, including the FIRS-France MoU, must be terminated immediately,” he noted.
The party also expressed concern over the decision of the Tinubu administration to appoint Xpress Payment Solutions Limited as a Treasury Single Account (TSA) collecting agent by the FIRS.
It said this mirrors the resurrection of the dangerous model of the Alpha Beta revenue collection cartel of Lagos State at the national level.
On this, Falalu emphasised that there are serious questions to be asked: “Firstly, what is wrong with the existing collection system, which has seen increased revenue collection in recent years? Secondly, who are the persons behind Xpress Payment Solutions Limited? Thirdly, what percentage of our revenue would Xpress Payment collect for their services? And finally, was the appointment of Xpress Payment subjected to an open, competitive tender as required by rules and regulations governing government contracts?”
The party called on the National Assembly to protect Nigerians against abuses and excesses of the executive in a presidential system of government, and must urgently pass the necessary data-sovereignty amendments before the new tax law commences operations in January 2026.
The party insisted that it rejected any foreign intrusion into the country’s financial systems and recommit to building a self-reliant, resilient economy that serves Nigerians first and foremost.