By BONIFACE AKARAH

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has unveiled the National Sovereignty Cloud Initiative (NSCI) Regulatory Instruments aimed at strengthening Nigeria's digital sovereignty, protecting critical data and accelerating the country's digital economy through trusted cloud infrastructure.

The regulatory instruments were unveiled in Abuja during a ceremony attended by key government officials and industry stakeholders.

Speaking at the event, NITDA Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, described the initiative as a strategic milestone that would provide the regulatory framework needed to build a secure and globally competitive cloud ecosystem.

"These instruments provide the regulatory certainty, technical standards, and assurance framework required to build a trusted cloud ecosystem that safeguards Nigeria's digital sovereignty while creating new opportunities for investment, innovation, and sustainable economic growth," Abdullahi said.

The National Sovereignty Cloud Initiative, a Federal Government programme coordinated by NITDA, comprises the National Computing Guideline, National Cloud Technical Guideline, National Digital Infrastructure Assurance Framework and National Cloud Investment Strategy.

Abdullahi said the initiative is designed to strengthen Nigeria's digital resilience, stimulate investment in indigenous cloud services and position the country as a regional digital infrastructure hub.

"We should position ourselves not to serve Nigeria alone, but to serve West and Central Africa. Nigeria is already the digital gateway to West Africa and can extend to every part of Africa. But we can only realise that goal when we build our infrastructure. So, today's event is the first step in that direction," he stated.

He commended members of the NSCI Technical Working Group and other stakeholders for developing the regulatory instruments, stressing that collaboration among government agencies would be critical to the successful implementation of the initiative.

Also speaking, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Engr. Nadungu Gagare, said the launch demonstrates the Federal Government's commitment to protecting Nigeria's digital assets and data sovereignty.

"By ensuring that government data remains strictly within national jurisdiction and under local operational control, we are guaranteeing data sovereignty and regulatory compliance. It will catalyse local cloud capacity, foster local job creation, and empower indigenous investors and innovators to build solutions on a secure, locally hosted foundation," Gagare said.

He assured that the ministry would work with all ministries, departments and agencies to ensure the strategic objectives of the initiative are fully implemented.

In a goodwill message, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Olayemi Cardoso, represented by the Director of the Payment System Supervision Department, Dr. Rakiya Opemi Yusuf, described the initiative as evidence of strong institutional collaboration between financial and digital sector regulators.

"CBN regulates the financial ecosystem. NITDA provides the national framework for digital infrastructure, cloud governance and assurance. These responsibilities are complementary, not competing. Together, they create a coherent national architecture," Cardoso said.

He added that the apex bank would continue working with NITDA and industry stakeholders to position Nigeria as Africa's trusted hub for digital finance and cloud innovation through clear regulatory expectations and coordinated implementation.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Backbone Limited, Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju, said the initiative comes at a critical time, particularly following the Central Bank's directive requiring banks and financial institutions to localise their data.

Adeyanju expressed confidence that the framework would encourage greater investment in local cloud infrastructure, promote indigenous technology development and create employment opportunities similar to those generated by the liberalisation of Nigeria's telecommunications sector.

As part of the implementation process, NITDA announced that it will constitute the Sovereign Cloud Governance Committee (SovGov) within the next two weeks. The committee will comprise representatives from relevant government institutions, sector regulators, industry and the private sector, with NITDA serving as its secretariat.

•PHOTO: The Director General, NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa signing the National Sovereignty Cloud Initiative(NSCI) Memorandum of Understanding along side the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy, Engr. Nadungu Gagare, Engr. Ikechukwu Nnamani, Chief Executive Officer of Medallion Data Centres Limited and Dr Rakiya Opemi Yusuf, Director, Payment Systems Supervision Department, CBN