Video: No data access, just tax reform collaboration, Oyedele clears air on France MOU
Chairman, Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele
Abdullateef Fowewe
The Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, has dismissed concerns over a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with France, stressing it involves no data sharing or access to Nigerian tax systems.
Video: No data access, just tax reform collaboration, Oyedele clears air on France MOU
During a TV panel discussion, Oyedele explained the initiative’s origins.
“The whole MOU was actually something we initiated. So, as part of these tax reforms, we understood lessons from many countries,” he said, noting outreach to ambassadors for Zoom meetings with bodies like the UK’s HMRC.
He highlighted France’s success in tax harmonization as a key inspiration.
“France in particular had done so well in harmonization. They decided to say, ‘Let’s document what he asked us to do.’ And this is really about—because for us, my committee is temporary—so we go to institutions,” Oyedele clarified, pointing to training and experience-sharing with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
Addressing public skepticism, he was firm, “It doesn’t have any data connection, nothing about [data access]. Nobody would allow that. It’s just partnerships.” Oyedele added that Nigeria developed its own Integrated Customs (IC) system for filing returns, praising local innovations over foreign tech like Germany’s SAP used elsewhere.
“I will not speak for the FIRS or NRA,” he concluded, urging focus on the collaborative benefits amid ongoing tax reform efforts.
