Nigeria Moves to Take Control of Government, Citizens’ Data – NITDA

The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, explained that Nigeria’s National Sovereign Cloud Initiative is a strategic effort aimed at strengthening the country’s digital sovereignty by ensuring that critical government and sensitive citizen data are securely hosted and governed within Nigeria.

Speaking during an interview on TVC Breakfast Saturday, Inuwa said the initiative goes beyond simply building data centres, noting that it seeks to reduce Nigeria’s heavy dependence on foreign digital infrastructure, strengthen cybersecurity, improve government control over sensitive information, and create a more coordinated national cloud ecosystem.

He explained that the reform is deeply rooted in President Bola Tinubu’s Nigeria First policy, recalling that the president had articulated eight priority areas to drive national inclusivity and prosperity, with priority number seven specifically focused on accelerating diversification through digitalisation and innovation.

“So is cloud sovereignty, or we call it digital sovereignty. This reform is deeply rooted in President Tinubu’s Nigeria First policy, and also, if you remember, on the assumption of office, the president made it clear that driving national inclusivity and prosperity is paramount to his renewed hope agenda, and the president articulated eight priority areas to achieve that vision, with priority number seven specifically focused on accelerating diversification through digitalisation and innovation.”

Inuwa said the initiative is about Nigeria building its capacity for digital self-determination, stressing that connectivity and compute power form the backbone of the digital economy, since almost every aspect of daily life and the economy now depends on technology.

On the benefits of storing data locally, he cited examples such as mobile money and payment platforms, as well as the digitisation of healthcare services, warning that systems hosted outside the country could become inaccessible in the event of a submarine cable cut or other disruptions, potentially affecting critical services, including those that save lives.

Addressing concerns about funding and infrastructure readiness, Inuwa said the initiative was not about shutting Nigeria’s doors to foreign technology providers but about inviting them to build within the country. He disclosed that President Tinubu approved Project BRIDGE, which involves rolling out 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable nationwide to connect unconnected areas, with investments coming from bodies such as the World Bank and the European Investment Bank. He added that government spending on IT infrastructure had exceeded N3.8 trillion since 2023 and that channelling such investment locally would boost confidence among foreign investors.

He further explained that NITDA has developed a framework for digital infrastructure assurance, involving certification for data centre infrastructure providers, cloud service providers, cloud service aggregators or system integrators, and software testing and quality assurance.

On waivers previously granted to big tech companies, Inuwa said the arrangement, which began in 2019 under the cloud-first policy, had now been replaced with clear timelines, noting that the Central Bank of Nigeria had already set a January 1 deadline for banks to bring financial transaction data back into the country.

Responding to questions on ownership and regulatory control, Inuwa said the initiative operates as an open market under a private-led, government-enabled model, adding that Nigeria is positioning itself as the digital gateway for West and Central Africa through a network of interconnected data centre locations designed for redundancy and disaster recovery.

He assured that a strong regulatory and legal framework, including the Nigeria Data Protection Act and data classification guidelines, would govern the initiative, stressing that any data stored in Nigeria would fall under Nigerian law and could not be moved without the country’s knowledge.

Inuwa also spoke on collaboration with the private sector, saying NITDA had co-created the regulatory framework with hyperscalers and local data centre providers over two years, culminating in the establishment of a Sovereign Cloud Governance Council as the decision-making body for the initiative.On youth involvement, he said the initiative was designed to build an enabling environment for young Nigerians to develop and scale digital solutions globally, citing examples such as Moniepoint and Flutterwave, and noting that talent development remains one of the key pillars of the strategy.