NITDA Unveils Taskforce to Drive Nigeria’s Sovereign Cloud Initiative

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has inaugurated a task force to oversee the implementation of Nigeria’s sovereign cloud initiative, as the Federal Government moves to strengthen digital independence, attract investment and retain technology talent in the country.

The initiative is also expected to deepen local participation in cloud infrastructure, improve the security of critical data and create new opportunities for Nigerian technology professionals.

Speaking at the inauguration in Abuja, the director-general of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, described the sovereign cloud initiative as a major reform capable of transforming virtually every sector of the Nigerian economy.

Inuwa said unlike reforms in sectors such as telecommunications and banking, digital transformation cuts across the entire economy, including education, finance, healthcare, agriculture and manufacturing.

He said the taskforce would prioritise compliance with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) January 1 deadline for financial institutions, adding that NITDA would organise workshops to showcase compliant cloud solutions and build confidence among banks and other regulated institutions.

According to him, the agency would also work with stakeholders to develop an end-to-end certification framework covering infrastructure providers, cloud service providers and system integrators involved in migrating financial institutions to compliant cloud environments.

“We want you to work with us to co-design how we can certify the infrastructure providers, the cloud service providers, and cloud educators. Because we need to certify end-to-end, from the infrastructure, the cloud services, and those who will go and help banks to migrate,” Inuwa said.

The NITDA boss disclosed that the agency planned to launch a portal by October containing a directory of certified cloud service providers, infrastructure providers, system integrators and aggregators.

He explained that the portal would enable banks and other regulated institutions to identify accredited technology providers for their cloud migration needs.

Inuwa buttressed the need for effective monitoring of cloud infrastructure to ensure that sovereign data remains hosted within Nigeria and that regulated institutions comply with applicable requirements.

He said the initiative would create jobs and enable Nigerian technology professionals to build careers and businesses locally, thereby helping to reduce the migration of skilled talent.

Commenting, the director of Payment System Policy at the CBN, Rakiya Yusuf, said digital stability was fundamental to the stability of the financial system.

Yusuf emphasised the importance of access to reliable and timely data for effective policymaking and decision-making, assuring that the apex bank would continue to collaborate with NITDA and other stakeholders on the implementation of the framework.

She described the initiative as an important component of Nigeria’s wider economic transformation agenda.

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of Medallion Data Centres Limited, Ikechukwu Nnamani, said the sovereign cloud policy could unlock significant foreign direct investment in Nigeria’s data centre, connectivity and cloud infrastructure markets.

Nnamani said localising cloud infrastructure could also reduce capital flight by keeping payments for cloud services within the Nigerian economy and easing pressure on the naira.

“We are beginning to see a lot of companies come to Nigeria to physically deploy and implement their cloud infrastructure locally. So that is going to drive foreign direct investment into the country,” he said.

He added that the policy would generate employment, strengthen national security and improve digital service delivery by reducing latency associated with hosting data and applications outside the country.

Nnamani further said the initiative would create opportunities for Nigerians to acquire skills in emerging technologies, particularly as the country seeks to harness its large youthful population for economic growth.

Earlier, the acting director of NITDA’s Regulation and Compliance Department, Emmanuel Edet, said the inauguration marked the transition from the development of Nigeria’s cloud guidelines to their implementation.

Edet said the taskforce would bring regulators, government agencies and private-sector players together to strengthen Nigeria’s digital sovereignty and create an enabling environment for economic growth.

“We want to create a framework where regulators, stakeholders, private sector can actually work together to achieve a common goal which will eventually translate to other sectors of the economy,” he said.

He added that NITDA, as a pioneer agency in Nigeria’s digital ecosystem, remained committed to ensuring that the country fully harnesses the opportunities presented by the digital economy.

“We hope to continue in that stead to ensure that we achieve all that the potential of a country as large as Nigeria can attain in the digital environment,” Edet said.