Sovereign Cloud: NITDA Moves to Keep Nigeria’s Data, Jobs at Home

.... As Kashifu Inuwa describes the sovereign cloud programme as a major ecosystem-wide reform capable of transforming critical sectors of the economy, including banking, education, healthcare, agriculture, finance and manufacturing.

.... Says "the taskforce would, among other responsibilities, ensure compliance with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s January 1 deadline for financial institutions, while NITDA would organise workshops to showcase compliant cloud solutions and build confidence among banks and other regulated institutions."

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has inaugurated a taskforce to drive the implementation of Nigeria’s sovereign cloud initiative, with the Federal Government targeting greater digital independence, increased investment and job creation in the technology sector.

The initiative is also expected to strengthen the protection of critical national data by ensuring that sovereign and regulated data is hosted within Nigeria.

Speaking at the inauguration in Abuja, NITDA Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa, described the sovereign cloud programme as a major ecosystem-wide reform capable of transforming critical sectors of the economy, including banking, education, healthcare, agriculture, finance and manufacturing.

Inuwa said the taskforce would, among other responsibilities, ensure compliance with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s January 1 deadline for financial institutions, while NITDA would organise workshops to showcase compliant cloud solutions and build confidence among banks and other regulated institutions.

He said the agency would work with stakeholders to establish 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.

According to him, the portal would enable banks and other regulated institutions to identify accredited technology providers for their cloud migration needs.

He also stressed the importance of monitoring cloud infrastructure to ensure that sovereign data remains within Nigeria and that regulated institutions comply with applicable requirements.

Beyond data protection, Inuwa said the initiative would create opportunities for Nigerian technology professionals by generating jobs and enabling skilled workers to build careers and businesses locally, thereby helping to curb the migration of technology talent.

The Director of Payment System Policy at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Rakiya Yusuf, said digital stability was fundamental to the stability of the financial system.

Yusuf stressed the importance of reliable and timely data for effective policy formulation and decision-making, assuring that the CBN would continue to collaborate with NITDA and other stakeholders to ensure successful implementation of the framework.

Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of Medallion Data Centres Limited, Ikechukwu Nnamani, said the sovereign cloud policy could attract significant foreign direct investment into Nigeria’s data centre, connectivity and cloud infrastructure sectors.

He said localising cloud infrastructure could reduce capital flight by keeping payments for cloud services within Nigeria, while also easing pressure on the naira.

Nnamani added that the policy would create jobs, strengthen national security and improve digital services through reduced latency.

“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 in foreign direct investment into the country,” he said.

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 provide a platform for regulators, government agencies and private-sector stakeholders to work together to strengthen Nigeria’s digital sovereignty and create an enabling environment for economic growth.