Goverment of Nigeria don answer people wey dey criticize one agreement wey dem sign with one French tax agency.

Bayo Onanuga, the media aide to President Bola Tinubu, release statement on behalf of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), wey deny the allegations.

The statement talk say the agreement wey Nigeria make with the French public spending and tax authority (DGFiP) na only for technical help and training for their Nigerian counterparts.

For the post wey Onanuga put for X wey carry FIRS signature, e say the agreement no go give France permission to see Nigerian taxpayers' data or access the country's online platform.

The statement say NRS, like FIRS before am, dey prioritise national security and don put strong safeguards to protect taxpayers' data.

E add say tax authorities for different countries dey enter similar agreements to improve work, share knowledge and adopt better practices wey dey work for the world.

Aim of the agreement

The statement point out say DGFiP na one of the most established tax authorities for the world; dem get more than 100 years experience and dem sabi how to do digital transformation, serve taxpayers and government and manage public funds.

This collaboration go allow Nigeria learn from that experience. The support na advisory, no be intrusion, and e remain under full control of Nigeria. Contrary to some misunderstanding, the agreement no mean say local tech providers go lose their roles.

The statement also say FIRS and the NRS wey go replace am go continue to work with Nigerian tech companies like NIBSS, Interswitch, PayStack and Flutterwave.

Finally, the statement say the agency welcome public discussion about tax law reform, but e add say any public debate suppose focus on wetin the agreement really mean and wetin e want achieve.

Instead of undermining Nigeria's sovereignty, the statement say the agreement dey strengthen am by helping build more efficient tax system wey meet global standards and still get full control over its policies.