The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has unveiled the National Sovereignty Cloud Initiative (NSCI) Regulatory Instruments as part of its sustained drives toward enhancing the security of Nigeria’s digital economy.
The initiative aims to strengthen Nigeria’s data sovereignty and boost cloud adoption through four key components, namely the National Computing Guideline, the National Cloud Technical Guideline, the National Digital Infrastructure Assurance Framework, and the National Cloud Investment Strategy.
Speaking at the launch event in Abuja, the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, described the framework as essential for creating regulatory certainty, maintaining technical standards, and building a trusted cloud ecosystem as well as driving local investment and innovation while positioning Nigeria as a premier digital gateway not just for the country, but for the wider West and Central African regions.
In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Engr. Nadungu Gagare, maintained that keeping government data strictly within national jurisdiction would guarantee compliance and safeguards Nigeria’s data borders.
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He pointed out that the NSCI framework would catalyze local cloud capacity, foster job creation, and empower indigenous tech innovators to build solutions on secure, locally hosted infrastructure, committing the Ministry to driving implementation across all government bodies.
In a goodwill message, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, who was represented by the Director of the Payment System Supervision Department, Dr. Rakiya Opemi Yusuf, lauded the collaboration between the apex bank and NITDA on the regulatory initiative.
The banker pointed out that NITDA’s cloud infrastructure standards directly complemented the apex bank’s financial system oversight, forming a unified architecture to establish Nigeria as a trusted regional hub for digital finance.
Also, the Managing Director and CEO of Galaxy Backbone Limited, Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju, noted that the launch of the NSCI came at an ideal time, aligning seamlessly with the CBN’s recent mandates requiring financial institutions to localize their data.
The industry expert expressed optimism that the new framework would spur major investments and create workforce opportunities reminiscent of the growth seen after Nigeria’s telecommunications deregulation.
Experts, who commended the institutional stakeholders and the Technical Working Group on the initiative, believe that the launch of the framework underscores a shared commitment across public and private sectors to establish a resilient, self-reliant digital economy.
To ensure efficient operationalization of the NSCI, NITDA announced that it would establish the Sovereign Cloud Governance Committee (SovGov), comprising representatives of government institutions, industry regulators, and the private sector, that will lead the implementation within two weeks with NITDA serving as the Secretariat.
