*NATIONAL CHRISTIAN ELDERS FORUM (NCEF)*

*MR PRESIDENT, WHAT LEGACY WOULD YOU LEAVE BEHIND?*

_“A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman thinks of the next generation.” ― James Freeman Clarke_

*HIGHLIGHTS:*
• The current distress in the country affords President Tinubu opportunities to provide solutions that would be enduring legacies for his administration.
• The root cause of the crisis in Nigeria is the conflict between Democracy and Sharia ideologies.
• The Muslim North should revert to the Penal Code approved by the Sardauna for the North and dismantle the Sharia criminal law.
• The 1999 Constitution lacks legitimacy, and it should be decommissioned immediately.
• The 2027 election should not take place under the 1999 Constitution but under a new constitution. Nigeria should stop validating an illegitimacy every four years.
• President Tinubu should initiate the birthing of a new Constitution as one of his legacies to Nigeria. This would put him in the ranks of Robertson Constitution, Mcpherson Constitution, and the Lyttleton Constitution.
• The Government of President Tinubu should convene a conference of the ethnic nationalities to re-negotiate Nigeria and produce a new Constitution for the country before 2027.

Mr President,

The National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) brings greetings to Mr President in these trying times while we commiserate with multitudes of Nigerians who have been negatively impacted by the ongoing terrorism in Nigeria. The Forum of Christian Elders condoles families that have suffered the loss of loved ones, and empathises, through the Lay Faithful Trust Foundation, with those in the IDP camps. We pray, and we keep working, that this distress shall pass quickly.

As Christian elders, we appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on whose shoulders lies the responsibility of steering the ship of the state at this critical period, to consider our counsel in this brief presentation. This season calls for sacrificial leadership that will set aside all personal ambitions and work for the common good of all. It is leaders who make the sacrifices that posterity honours. History etches in gold the names of those who make a difference for good in their generation. At this point, Mr. President should be thinking about the legacy he would leave behind. In other words, what does President Tinubu want to be remembered for?

The crisis which Nigeria is going through affords Mr. President the opportunity to distinguish himself as a noble statesman. He should be thinking of turning the present distresses in the country into challenges to which he would provide lasting solutions and win the accolades of generations to come. Only such a commitment can bring the current distress in Nigeria to a quick end. Nigeria is calling for leadership that will set aside partisan politicking and focus on bringing a new Nigeria out of the current rubble induced by the unrestrained politics of religion.

Since 2015, NCEF has been cautioning against the unbridled incursion of religion into the body politics of Nigeria. The eight years of President Buhari witnessed the promotion of sectional religious interest over and above the national interest. That posture does not appear to be declining. It is based on religious discrimination that genocide is still being committed against Christian populations in Nigeria in the North and Middle Belt regions of the country. The violence is spreading all over the country.

NCEF is aghast that there could be a denial of religiously induced genocide against Christian populations in Nigeria. Since its inception in 2015, NCEF has written over one hundred and twenty-one (121) papers on the incursion of Sharia ideology into governance in Nigeria. The incursion of Sharia ideology into the 1999 Constitution created dual conflicting ideologies for Nigeria. Repeatedly, NCEF cautioned that Nigeria is operating two different ideologies for the same country and two sets of laws for the same people. Nigeria is a secular state, and its national ideology is democracy.

In 2017, NCEF asked Muslim leaders in Nigeria nine questions when they sought to deny genocide against Christians. To date, no Muslim leader has answered one of those nine questions. It is therefore surprising that the same leaders of Islam can still deny in 2025 that there is genocide against Christians in Nigeria.

Mr. President, the root of this crisis is the illegitimate and unilateral insertion of Sharia ideology into the 1999 Constitution by a Muslim Military Head of State, who used his position to promote his religion over and above other religions in the country. The starting point in resolving this crisis is as follows:

1. The 1999 Constitution (as amended) must be decommissioned immediately. It failed the test of a true Constitution for Nigeria because it was neither negotiated by the ethnic nationalities nor passed through any Constituent Assembly. Its claim of “we the people …” is not only false, it is also fraudulent. We cannot build a nation on fraud.
2. The Sharia ideology must be consigned as “personal” law, and every structure supporting Sharia “criminal law” must be dismantled forthwith.
3. Mr. President should convene a conference of the ethnic nationalities to re-negotiate Nigeria and come out with a new constitution of the people, by the people, for the people. We suggest that this should be done before the next election in 2027.
4. It would not be in the interest of Nigeria to conduct another election under a constitution that does not represent the collective agreement of Nigerians. Nigeria should no longer continue to endorse illegality every four years.

NCEF is aware that the matter of Sharia evokes emotion amongst Muslims of the core North. However, the controversy can easily be resolved if we travel down memory lane to the foundation of Nigeria at Independence. The late Sardauna wanted Sharia, but the request was declined by the Colonial Authority because Sharia failed the “repugnancy test”. We shall quote three legal luminaries on this matter: Mr. Solomon Asemota, SAN; the late Professor Ben Nwabueze; and the late Justice Mohammed Bello.

Mr. Solomon Asemota, SAN, commented thus:
“It is also very clear that Sharia cannot be enforced as state law, which was why the Sardauna took the trouble to ensure the passage of the Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure in 1960, which has the following features:
a. It was applicable to everybody in Northern Nigeria.
b. It was internationally accepted and above all
c. It was Quran compliant.
If the above is the correct state of the two laws, then there is need to return Sharia to the status it was before 1975 – Civil and Personal Law.”

The late Professor Ben Nwabueze gave his legal opinion as follows:
“The conclusion is thus inescapable that the prohibition in section 10 of the Constitution stamps with an indelible taint of unconstitutionality, the Sharia criminal law, whether in its original form as contained in the Quran and the Sunnah or in a codified form to be enacted by the National Assembly or a State House of Assembly.”

The late Justice Mohammed Bello commented thus:
“Section 38(1) of the Constitution ensures for every person the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, including freedom to change his religion or belief, whereas under Sharia, ‘ridda’ (change of religion) is a capital offence. Consequently, the offence of ridda is inconsistent with Section 38(1) and by virtue of Section 1 is unconstitutional.”

Mr. President, based on the legal opinions of these legal luminaries, there should be no delay in setting in motion the process of giving Nigeria a new constitution. The twelve states in the North that introduced Sharia law should revert to the Penal Code. It was the deviation from the Penal Code that brought Nigeria into this crisis. To fully resolve this crisis, NCEF wishes to outline the following recommendations to Mr. President for his careful consideration:

a) There should be an immediate decommissioning of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
b) In the interim, Nigeria should revert to its 1963 Republican Constitution, being the only constitution that was negotiated by the founding fathers of Nigeria. The 1963 Republican Constitution was not abrogated. It was “suspended” by the Military in 1966. Mr. President can lift the suspension and with some minor amendments, resume its operation.
c) A Conference of ethnic nationalities should be convened to renegotiate Nigeria and produce a new constitution for the country.
d) A Truth and Reconciliation Commission should be established, for the healing and rebuilding of trust among all the divergent groups in Nigeria.
e) Professionalism should be restored to the Army through the dismissal of all “repentant terrorists”.
f) Government should enable the IDPs to return to their ancestral homes.
g) Maximize the assistance offered by the United States of America to neutralize all terrorists who have been undermining the State and compromising security all over the nation.

Mr. President, we conclude with the words of James Freeman Clarke, that “a politician thinks of the next election; a statesman thinks of the next generation.” We appeal to you to seize the rare opportunity of turning the present crisis in Nigeria into legacy projects that will etch your name in gold for generations to come. We pray that you will superintend the emergence of a new constitution that will restore peace, progress, and prosperity to Nigeria. In years to come, History will speak of a Tinubu Constitution, like the Robertson Constitution, the Mcpherson Constitution, and the Lyttleton Constitution. Your current report card, when assessed by Section 14(2)b of the 1999 Constitution, is not encouraging. Security and welfare of the citizens are at the lowest rung of the ladder of the performance index. You should not leave this report card behind. It will haunt you and your descendants for generations to come. We encourage you to rise like a noble statesman and set politicking apart to provide lasting solutions to the problems of Nigeria. That should be your legacy, not the 2027 election. We believe that this should be done before your first term in office is over.

NCEF wishes to thank all the kind-hearted people, locally and internationally, who have expressed concern and willingness to help Nigeria in this period of distress. We pray that Mr. President will take seriously our counsel, that posterity remembers and honors those who make a difference in their generation.

God bless Nigeria.

For, and on behalf of, NCEF,


Dr Samuel Danjuma Gani, CON
Chairman

25th December 2025

Date: December 22, 2025

A Response from the Voice of the Persecuted Christian in Nigeria
To the Visiting U.S. Congressional Delegation

Honourable Members of Congress-Rep. Bill Huizenga and included Reps. Michael Baumgartner, Keith Self, and Jefferson Shreve,


We welcome you—not as dignitaries, but as witnesses.

We speak to you not from conference rooms or carefully curated briefings, but from burned villages, mass graves, orphaned children, widowed mothers, and churches that have become crime scenes. We speak as Nigerian Christians who live every day under the shadow of violence, displacement, and selective justice.

You say you have come to listen. Then please hear us plainly.

We did not ask for American troops on our soil. What we ask for is truth, moral clarity, and consequences for impunity.

You say the United States has ruled out “boots on the ground.” Very well. But understand this:
what is killing us is not the absence of U.S. soldiers—it is the absence of accountability.

You say the CPC designation is meant to “encourage reform through diplomatic pressure.” Yet from where we stand, that pressure seems to evaporate the moment it meets the comfort of Nigerian political elites. Our attackers still roam free. Our complaints still go unanswered. Our killers are rarely prosecuted. Entire Christian communities in the Middle Belt—Plateau, Benue, Southern Kaduna—are erased, while officials call it “communal clashes.”

Respectfully, this language is part of the problem.

You say the violence affects “communities of all faiths.” That is true in theory—but incomplete in practice. What we experience is patterned, persistent, and targeted. Churches are attacked. Christian farmlands are seized. Pastors are abducted. Worshippers are slaughtered. And when we cry out, we are told to be patient, to trust systems that have failed us repeatedly.

You distinguish between terrorism in the North-East and so-called communal violence elsewhere. On paper, that distinction may comfort policy frameworks. On the ground, it buries bodies. The men who attack us carry weapons of war, shout religious slogans, and act with confidence that no authority will stop them. Whether you label them terrorists, militias, or bandits, the result is the same: Christians are dying, and justice is absent.

You say “true friends don’t walk away.” We agree.
But true friends also do not sanitize reality to preserve partnerships.

If Nigeria’s CPC status is to be reviewed based on “measurable progress,” then please tell us:
– How many convictions for attacks on Christian communities count as progress?
– How many displaced Christians returning safely to their lands count as progress?
– How many dismantled terror networks count as progress?

Because what we see instead is a government skilled at making promises, forming committees, issuing statements—and doing very little.

You speak of “shoes on the ground, not boots.” Humanitarian aid is welcome, but aid without justice becomes a revolving door. We do not want to be permanent refugees fed by donations while our ancestral lands are occupied and our killers rewarded with silence.

We are concerned—deeply—that your visit risks becoming another photo opportunity that allows corrupt officials to say, “America understands us,” while nothing changes for those bleeding in the villages.

If you truly wish to help, then we ask for this:
• Name the violence accurately. Stop hiding targeted persecution behind neutral language.
• Tie diplomatic engagement to consequences. Visa bans, financial sanctions, and aid conditionality against officials who enable or ignore violence.
• Demand prosecutions, not promises. Justice is the deterrent we lack.
• Listen beyond government offices. Sit with survivors, widows, pastors, displaced families—without handlers.
• Do not trade our lives for stability optics. A stability built on mass graves is temporary and dangerous.

You warn that insecurity in Nigeria has global consequences. You are right. But understand this:
when Christians are slaughtered with impunity, when the rule of law collapses selectively, extremism does not stay local.

We are not asking the United States to fight our battles.
We are asking you not to help our oppressors feel comfortable.

History will remember whether this moment was one of courageous truth—or convenient diplomacy.

We are still here. We are still alive. We are still praying.
But we are running out of time.

The Persecuted Christian in Nigeria
Kingsley Shola Ayinde
On behalf of many whose voices were silenced before you arrived.

STATEHOUSE PRESS RELEASE

A FAILED OPPOSITION ENGAGING IN SUBTERFUGE AND THE EMPTY SEARCH FOR SCAPEGOATS

Nigeria's so-called opposition politicians, comprising some of those left in a dying political party and a sprinkling of some failed political office aspirants regrouping in a platform struggling to find its bearings, are amusing lots.

They blow hot air, seek scapegoats for their failure and move to confuse the polity in a desperate search for cheap political gains.

On Sunday, a group of opposition figures gathered to sing their familiar tune, hoping their cheerleaders would see their action as a blistering attack from a seemingly virile opposition group.

They alleged a threat to multi-party democracy because many top politicians are joining the governing All Progressives Congress of their own free will. Our constitution guarantees freedom of association and affords our people the right to change their political leanings at any time of their choosing.

None of the people who joined the governing APC was pressured to do so. They all did so of their own free will. They are being motivated by the noticeable gains of President Bola Tinubu's reform programme.

We may ask: when politicians were moving in droves to the now-dying Peoples Democratic Party between 2000 and 2015, was Nigeria's democracy imperilled?

Also, investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have begun exposing those with some explanation to give regarding their stewardship in office and management of public funds entrusted to them. These politicians now accuse President Tinubu of weaponising the EFCC for political purposes.

While the Presidency does not speak for the EFCC and believes the agency can speak for itself, we must reiterate that the EFCC is an independent institution established by law and empowered to carry out its statutory responsibilities without interference or favour.

The agency's mandate is to investigate and prosecute financial crimes, irrespective of the personalities involved, their political affiliations, or their positions in society. We find it curious that the same people who claimed they want to rescue Nigeria are now the ones waging a war of attrition against accountability and probity. Those who have cases to answer before EFCC should be bold and brave enough to defend themselves if they are clean.

President Tinubu does not issue directives to any anti-corruption agency on whom to investigate, arrest, or prosecute.

President Tinubu has significant state issues to address rather than engage in political targeting.

The prosecution is conducted by the court, not by any sleight of hand, and those found not guilty will receive a clean bill of health.

Allegations of "weaponisation" are distractions from these politicians, who are running short of campaign issues to challenge President Tinubu and the APC's success in less than three years in office.

No one is above the law. Everyone must be accountable for their actions, both in and out of the office. Political affiliation should not be a shield against EFCC statutory work, which recently led to Nigeria's removal from the FATF grey list.

We have taken cognisance of the signatories to the statement. It is instructive that some of them were previously investigated and prosecuted by the EFCC even before President Tinubu took office in 2023.

Some of these politicians have also been indicted in international financial probes for money laundering, with some of their accomplices jailed in foreign lands.

Are they now signing statements because their chickens are coming home to roost?

We advise those politicians not to undermine the integrity of our nation's institutions and the collective resolve to fight corruption by weaponising politics to escape accountability and encourage impunity.

The fight against corruption is a collective responsibility and should not be trivialised by baseless allegations, jaundiced or politicised narratives.


Bayo Onanuga
Special Adviser to the President
(Information & Strategy)
December 14, 2025

Opposition Leaders Raise Alarm over Threat Against Nigeria's Multi-Party Democracy

*Accuse Tinubu govt of plot to annihilate opposition

*Demand independent review body to examine public accounts of federal, state, LGs from 2015 to 2025

*Propose embedding anti-graft operatives directly into government payment, expenditure processes at all levels


PRESS STATEMENT

Anti-Corruption, Not Anti-Opposition: A Joint Statement by Opposition Leaders on the Growing Politicisation of State Institutions for Persecution of the Opposition

We are compelled by duty to nation and conscience to issue this statement to alert our compatriots and the international community to the unfortunate and gradual slide of our country into a state where key national institutions - particularly the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); The Nigeria Police; The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) are increasingly perceived as tools of political intimidation, selective justice and systematic persecution of opposition leaders.

Across our nation, there are mounting concerns that state power is being deployed not for prevention of economic crimes, but for persecution of perceived political adversaries, with the ultimate aim of weakening opposition voices and dismantling Nigeria’s multiparty democracy.

A Dangerous Agenda Unfolding

More than ever before in our democratic experience, Nigerians have witnessed what many now describe as a covert, undemocratic agenda: to ensure that all state governments fall under the control of the President’s party - not through transparent electoral contests, but by secretly intimidating opposition governors via the anti-corruption apparatus until they succumb and defect. Recent defections of opposition governors into the ruling party have reinforced public suspicion that political pressure, not ideological or personal persuasion, is driving this realignment. This pattern forms part of a broader project that targets not only elected leaders but also key opposition figures perceived as architects of emerging coalitions ahead
of the 2027 general election. We must warn that this project, if allowed to continue unchecked, poses a grave danger to Nigeria’s democratic future.

Weaponisation of the EFCC

There is a discernible pattern of persecution of the opposition by the EFCC with the sole objective of weakening same for the benefit of the ruling APC. This disturbing pattern mirrors a long-standing sentiment openly expressed years ago by a former National Chairman of the ruling APC, Adams Oshiomhole, who declared when receiving defectors from the PDP: “Once you have joined APC, all your sins are forgiven.” Whether intended as political rhetoric or not, this statement has come to symbolise a troubling reality: allegations against members of the ruling party are routinely perceived to be overlooked, while even unsubstantiated accusations against opposition figures are vigorously pursued and subjected to media trial.
A few recent examples reinforce this perception. Months ago, a minister was implicated in a financial scandal so blatant that only sustained public outrage forced her resignation. Yet, long after stepping down, she has neither been charged nor arraigned by the EFCC and is now actively involved in the President’s re-election campaign. Similarly, another minister remained in office despite the university he claimed to have attended publicly denying his academic certificate. He, too, resigned only after intense public pressure, Months later, no charges have been filed.
Such selective enforcement undermines the legitimacy of anticorruption efforts and erodes public trust. Furthermore, Nigerians are not blind to the sudden empowerment of certain political actors, including individuals appointed to federal executive positions after crossing from the opposition but still claim to be members of opposition party - whose unstated mandate, in the public’s eyes, appears to include the systematic destabilisation of opposition parties through the creation of factions, inducement and the exploitation of judicial processes, allegedly funded by state resources.

Erosion of EFCC’s Independence

The EFCC is a critical national institution, created to safeguard Nigeria’s economic integrity.
Yet today, many Nigerians fear that its independence is steadily being eroded. An agency designed for prevention and accountability risks becoming an instrument of political persecution, undermining both justice and democracy. The President must recognise that evident social and political injustice could snowball into mayhem as the nation approaches another election cycle. This trend must be halted immediately if the nation must be spared a major catastrophe.

OUR DEMANDS
• Depoliticise EFCC: The operations of the EFCC must be urgently shielded from political interference and must not serve the whims and caprices of any President, party or political faction.

• Return EFCC to Its Statutory Mandate: The Commission must refocus on genuine detection and prevention of economic crimes across board, not selective prosecution, media trials or intimidation of opposition figures. For the avoidance of doubt, the Functions and Powers of the Commission are expressly provided for under Sections 6 & 7 respectively.

• Defend Multiparty Democracy: Nigerians must remain eternally vigilant to ensure that the President does not transform the country into a de facto one-party state - as witnessed in Lagos over the last 25 years, where opposition leaders were silenced, coerced or induced into irrelevance.

• Embed Preventive Anti-Corruption Mechanisms: Relying on the Supreme Court ruling on the powers of the EFCC over all public accounts, for true prevention of financial crimes, anti-graft operatives should be embedded in all the payment processes of governments at all levels to ensure compliance with rules of transparency, accountability and probity in public financial transactions. Put differently, the EFCC must recognise and exercise their function as covering both pre and post expenditure. operatives must also be held accountable for any unreported but later detected economic and financial infractions in their respective areas of oversight. To further strengthen the EFCC, we propose that the EFCC Act should be amended for this purpose.

• Establish an Independent Review Body: We call on the Attorney General, in consultation with the National Assembly, to set up an independent review body which should be granted full access to the public accounts of the federal, all states and all local governments covering from 2015 to 2025, with a mandate to conduct a transparent, comprehensive review of financial transactions and publish its findings. Such a review will expose the EFCC’s pattern of selective prosecution of opposition figures and reveal that many current officials of the federal government—and those of ruling-party-controlled states—should have long been prosecuted for economic and financial crimes, but were shielded due to their political affiliation. Based on its findings, the independent body should also propose amendments to EFCC’s enabling law to strengthen the agency for more effective and efficient prevention of financial crimes.
This proposed body is to be chaired by an eminent judge, and composed of the following:
- Representatives from civil society organisations
- Representatives of the Nigerian Bar Association
- Representatives of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria
- Representatives of Institute of Chartered Bankers
- The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit
- Representatives of anti-graft agencies
- Representatives of the Police
- Representatives of the DSS
- Representatives of the Armed Forces
- Representatives of all political parties with a seat in the National Assembly.

A Call to Defend Nigeria’s Democracy

We call on all patriotic Nigerians across party lines, professions, regions and faiths to stand firm. Our democracy is under threat through the deliberate and systematic weakening of opposition forces, with the EFCC as the central instrument in this troubling strategy.

In the coming weeks, we will provide more details, and also engage foreign partners of Nigeria’s anti-graft agencies and diplomatic missions, including United States, UK, Canada, EU, World Bank Office, United Nations, to express our deep concern about the EFCC increasingly becoming a willing tool in a broader scheme to weaken opposition in Nigeria, and also demand a reform of the anti graft agency.
Nigeria’s democracy demands our vigilance, courage and unity, as Edmund Burke, an Anglo-Irish statesman and philosopher, warned: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing".
We are equally guided by the enduring words of Martin Luther King Jnr: “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil ......In the end we shall remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Now is the time for all of us to rise in defence of our cherished multiparty democracy, and indeed, in defence of the very soul of our nation.
We must make a deliberate choice not to be remembered by posterity for our Silence.
Nigeria belongs to all of us - not to a single party or a single leader.
Signed,
Sen. David Mark, GCON
Alh. Atiku Abubakar, GCON
Mallam Lawal Batagarawa
Chief Bode George
Mr. Peter Obi, CON
Chief John Odigie-Oyegun

*NOOOO!!! THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY MUST WAKE UP TO ITS MANDATED DUTY AND RESPONSIBILITIES TO REVERSE THIS CRIMINAL PROCEDURE BEFORE PBAT COMPLETES NIGERIA'S WHOLESALE ECONOMIC SLAVERY TO FRANCE!! COULD THIS BE THE OUTCOME OF THE NINE VISITS TO FRANCE IN THE GUISE OF 'WORKING HOLIDAYS' AND NO DISCLOSURE OF THE 'WORK' BEING DONE IN PARIS?! HABA!! NASS CANNOT PROCEED ON ANY CHRISTMAS BREAK UNTIL THIS IS HANDLED WITH UTMOST IMMEDIATE URGENCY. HOW COULD NOBODY SEE THIS DAYLIGHT BLUNDER IN ALL OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY??!!*
RPG
🏼🏼🏼🏼

*Tax Data Sovereignty: Truncate The FIRS-France Deal Now.*

Yesterday, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) signed an MoU with France’s Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP), handing one of Europe’s most sophisticated tax agencies direct collaboration on Nigeria’s digital tax infrastructure. Whilst the gains are projected all over our newspapers, it is important to note that this is not a harmless technical partnership; it is the latest and most dangerous chapter in a long campaign by foreign interests to gain control over Nigeria’s sovereign tax data.

I warned about this exact scenario nine months ago in my keynote speech “ _Protecting Our Tax Sovereignty_ ” at the Public Hearing on Tax Reforms organized by the Youths in Parliament March, 2025.

In my speech then I said,
“Nigeria is a fintech powerhouse. We have Flutterwave, PayStack, Interswitch, PiggyVest, Bamboo, and NIBSS — we lead Africa in innovation and internet usage. Our greatest asset is our people. Yet foreign interests are circling, offering ‘help’ that comes at the cost of our economic independence. Taxpayer data is national power. Allowing foreign control over this data is a threat to national security._ ”

In my Senate Pressroom address on March 26, 2025, I stated to the press that *if you allow your tax information into the hands of foreign interests, it is as good as handing over the keys to your house and bedroom to a visitor who visited you* .

This preceded my meeting with Senator Ned Munir Nwoko on amending his Nigerian Data Protection Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025 (SB 650) to include new paragraphs to protect our financial and gps data as ‘sensitive data’, and also promoting new clauses to protect our data from foreign interests. Senator Ned Nwoko listened keenly, directing his team to engage further while we prepare for the bill's public hearing.

Unfortunately, the tax reform bills passed without these protections, and now, this MoU arrives, unscrutinized.

No foreign nation helps for free; they gain leverage over our economic weaknesses. If France assesses which sectors thrive or falter, they can sway trade, investments, and negotiations in their favor. Why bypass our homegrown giants?

Nine months ago, in a House of Assembly speech, I queried: Why not engage PayStack, Flutterwave, Interswitch, Bamboo, and NIBSS; the toast of the continent, instead of signing away to France? Nigerians have built world-class Core Banking Applications; we don't need outsiders to "fix" what we pioneered.

*Why the FIRS-France MoU Is a Direct National Security Threat*

- Loss of Economic Control
Any country that outsources its tax data management becomes a financial puppet.

Mass Surveillance & Exploitation

- Foreign-controlled systems open the door to espionage, digital colonization, and economic sabotage.

- Geopolitical Blackmail
Real-time visibility into which sectors thrive and which sectors struggle gives France leverage in every future trade, investment, and loan negotiation.
No serious country hands its tax backbone to a foreign power. None.

In my submission to Senator Ned in support of his bill, *these were the amendments I proposed to block scenarios like the FIRS-France deal:*

- Classify financial data, including tax records, as Sensitive Personal Data under Section 65 of the NDPA 2023.

- Require that any service provider processing sensitive tax data must be at least 80% Nigerian-owned and Nigerian-controlled (new subsection to Section 29).

- Mandate heightened security and local ownership requirements for tax data under Section 39 (Data Security).

- Force disclosure of nationality and ownership of all subcontractors handling tax records (Section 44).

- Extend cross-border transfer restrictions (Sections 41-43) to domestic processors that are foreign-owned.

- Empower the Nigeria Data Protection Commission to set minimum Nigerian ownership thresholds for entities accessing tax data (Section 61).

These amendments would have made the FIRS-France partnership legally impossible without National Assembly approval. Yet the tax reform bills were passed, and this MoU was signed without incorporating a single one of them.

*I repeat the exact demands I made in March 2025:*

The full execution of Nigeria’s tax reforms must remain 100% in Nigerian hands.
No foreign entity should have access to Nigerian tax data, financial transactions, or national digital records.

homegrown institutions — NIBSS, Flutterwave, PayStack, Interswitch, and others — must be contracted to build and run our tax technology.
all foreign-led digital tax integration proposals, including the FIRS-France MoU, must be terminated with immediate effect.

National Assembly must urgently pass the data-sovereignty amendments listed above before the Nigeria Revenue Service commences operations in January 2026.
Tax data is the heartbeat of our economy, and no nation surrenders its heartbeat and expects to remain sovereign.

The National Assembly, the Presidency, and every patriotic Nigerian must rise now and stop this dangerous precedent. Our economic future must remain firmly in Nigerian hands. Protecting our national sovereignty is a key responsibility for a nationalist driven administration.

*Dr. Segun Adebayo*
*Executive Director, CAfPRA*
*11th December, 2025*

CSMN urges expedited action on proposed intervention in Nigeria to end bloodshed https://guardian.ng/news/csmn-urges-expedited-action-on-proposed-intervention-in-nigeria-to-end-bloodshed/

*NOOOO!!! THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY MUST WAKE UP TO ITS MANDATED DUTY AND RESPONSIBILITIES TO REVERSE THIS CRIMINAL PROCEDURE BEFORE PBAT COMPLETES NIGERIA'S WHOLESALE ECONOMIC SLAVERY TO FRANCE!! COULD THIS BE THE OUTCOME OF THE NINE VISITS TO FRANCE IN THE GUISE OF 'WORKING HOLIDAYS' AND NO DISCLOSURE OF THE 'WORK' BEING DONE IN PARIS?! HABA!! NASS CANNOT PROCEED ON ANY CHRISTMAS BREAK UNTIL THIS IS HANDLED WITH UTMOST IMMEDIATE URGENCY. HOW COULD NOBODY SEE THIS DAYLIGHT BLUNDER IN ALL OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY??!!*
RPG
🏼🏼🏼🏼

*Tax Data Sovereignty: Truncate The FIRS-France Deal Now.*

Yesterday, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) signed an MoU with France’s Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP), handing one of Europe’s most sophisticated tax agencies direct collaboration on Nigeria’s digital tax infrastructure. Whilst the gains are projected all over our newspapers, it is important to note that this is not a harmless technical partnership; it is the latest and most dangerous chapter in a long campaign by foreign interests to gain control over Nigeria’s sovereign tax data.

I warned about this exact scenario nine months ago in my keynote speech “ _Protecting Our Tax Sovereignty_ ” at the Public Hearing on Tax Reforms organized by the Youths in Parliament March, 2025.

In my speech then I said,
“Nigeria is a fintech powerhouse. We have Flutterwave, PayStack, Interswitch, PiggyVest, Bamboo, and NIBSS — we lead Africa in innovation and internet usage. Our greatest asset is our people. Yet foreign interests are circling, offering ‘help’ that comes at the cost of our economic independence. Taxpayer data is national power. Allowing foreign control over this data is a threat to national security._ ”

In my Senate Pressroom address on March 26, 2025, I stated to the press that *if you allow your tax information into the hands of foreign interests, it is as good as handing over the keys to your house and bedroom to a visitor who visited you* .

This preceded my meeting with Senator Ned Munir Nwoko on amending his Nigerian Data Protection Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025 (SB 650) to include new paragraphs to protect our financial and gps data as ‘sensitive data’, and also promoting new clauses to protect our data from foreign interests. Senator Ned Nwoko listened keenly, directing his team to engage further while we prepare for the bill's public hearing.

Unfortunately, the tax reform bills passed without these protections, and now, this MoU arrives, unscrutinized.

No foreign nation helps for free; they gain leverage over our economic weaknesses. If France assesses which sectors thrive or falter, they can sway trade, investments, and negotiations in their favor. Why bypass our homegrown giants?

Nine months ago, in a House of Assembly speech, I queried: Why not engage PayStack, Flutterwave, Interswitch, Bamboo, and NIBSS; the toast of the continent, instead of signing away to France? Nigerians have built world-class Core Banking Applications; we don't need outsiders to "fix" what we pioneered.

*Why the FIRS-France MoU Is a Direct National Security Threat*

- Loss of Economic Control
Any country that outsources its tax data management becomes a financial puppet.

Mass Surveillance & Exploitation

- Foreign-controlled systems open the door to espionage, digital colonization, and economic sabotage.

- Geopolitical Blackmail
Real-time visibility into which sectors thrive and which sectors struggle gives France leverage in every future trade, investment, and loan negotiation.
No serious country hands its tax backbone to a foreign power. None.

In my submission to Senator Ned in support of his bill, *these were the amendments I proposed to block scenarios like the FIRS-France deal:*

- Classify financial data, including tax records, as Sensitive Personal Data under Section 65 of the NDPA 2023.

- Require that any service provider processing sensitive tax data must be at least 80% Nigerian-owned and Nigerian-controlled (new subsection to Section 29).

- Mandate heightened security and local ownership requirements for tax data under Section 39 (Data Security).

- Force disclosure of nationality and ownership of all subcontractors handling tax records (Section 44).

- Extend cross-border transfer restrictions (Sections 41-43) to domestic processors that are foreign-owned.

- Empower the Nigeria Data Protection Commission to set minimum Nigerian ownership thresholds for entities accessing tax data (Section 61).

These amendments would have made the FIRS-France partnership legally impossible without National Assembly approval. Yet the tax reform bills were passed, and this MoU was signed without incorporating a single one of them.

*I repeat the exact demands I made in March 2025:*

The full execution of Nigeria’s tax reforms must remain 100% in Nigerian hands.
No foreign entity should have access to Nigerian tax data, financial transactions, or national digital records.

homegrown institutions — NIBSS, Flutterwave, PayStack, Interswitch, and others — must be contracted to build and run our tax technology.
all foreign-led digital tax integration proposals, including the FIRS-France MoU, must be terminated with immediate effect.

National Assembly must urgently pass the data-sovereignty amendments listed above before the Nigeria Revenue Service commences operations in January 2026.
Tax data is the heartbeat of our economy, and no nation surrenders its heartbeat and expects to remain sovereign.

The National Assembly, the Presidency, and every patriotic Nigerian must rise now and stop this dangerous precedent. Our economic future must remain firmly in Nigerian hands. Protecting our national sovereignty is a key responsibility for a nationalist driven administration.

*Dr. Segun Adebayo*
*Executive Director, CAfPRA*
*11th December, 2025*

MY RESPONSE: “TINUBU MOVES TO REWRITE NIGERIA…”

The responsibility for writing a constitution does not reside in the Presidency or even in the National Assembly. A true constitution derives its authority from the people—from the various ethnic nationalities and constituent communities that make up a country. That is why it is called a social contract. It is the people who give a constitution to their government, not the other way around.

If government alone writes a constitution, then every president will feel entitled to draft his own version, imposing his preferences on over 200 million citizens. That is not democracy; that is constitutional manipulation. Democracy is government of the people, by the people, and for the people—and that begins with a people-driven constitutional foundation.

If President Tinubu is truly serious, sincere, and committed to restructuring Nigeria, then the correct path is not unilateral constitutional proposals. The right step is to convene a sovereign dialogue of Nigeria’s ethnic nationalities—Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Ijaw, Tiv, Kanuri, and all others—to renegotiate the terms of our union. Only such a foundational conversation can produce a legitimate constitution that reflects our diversity, aspirations, and future.

Renaming the country or adjusting powers between the centre and the states cannot replace this fundamental requirement. Surface reforms will not fix a structurally defective foundation. Nigeria must return to the people, because they alone possess the authority to determine how they wish to coexist.

If Tinubu genuinely desires a new Nigeria, he should begin with the people—not with executive drafts, political shortcuts, or media announcements. The future of Nigeria must be negotiated, not dictated.