By Emmanuel Elebeke

The Federal Government has issued a stern warning to its agencies, prohibiting them from withholding requested data for more than 48 hours, with plans to introduce strict penalties for non-compliance.

Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, made the announcement during a Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) summit. He criticized the practice of government agencies selling or withholding data, emphasizing that such actions undermine efforts to generate revenue.

Oyedele revealed plans to draft legislation that will criminalize the withholding of government-held data and mandate its free provision within strict timeframes, saying, “The data does not belong to the agencies.” He cited an instance where the Joint Tax Board (JTB) was asked to pay for access to data, questioning how the government could boost revenue if agencies were selling information instead of using it to drive development.