By BONIFACE AKARAH

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has inaugurated a taskforce to drive the implementation of Nigeria’s sovereign cloud initiative, with the agency linking the policy to digital independence, job creation, investment and the retention of technology talent.

Speaking at the inauguration in Abuja, NITDA Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa, said the initiative was broader than a technology reform because digital transformation now cuts across education, finance, healthcare, agriculture and manufacturing.

Inuwa said the taskforce would focus initially on meeting the January 1 compliance deadline for financial institutions set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), while NITDA would organise workshops to help banks understand compliant cloud solutions.

He said the agency also planned an end-to-end certification system 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,” Inuwa said.

He added that the certification would cover the entire migration chain because banks would require different technology providers to move their systems into compliant cloud environments.

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 help banks and other regulated institutions identify accredited technology providers for their cloud migration needs.

Inuwa also stressed the need for effective monitoring to establish where cloud infrastructure is hosted and ensure that sovereign data remains within Nigeria in line with applicable requirements.

Beyond data control, he said the initiative could create opportunities for Nigerian technology professionals to build careers and businesses locally, potentially helping to reduce the loss of skilled technology workers to migration.

The Director of Payment System Policy at the CBN, Rakiya Yusuf, said the initiative was also important to the stability of Nigeria’s financial system.

Yusuf stressed that reliable and timely data was essential for effective policymaking and decision-making, adding that the CBN would continue working with NITDA and other stakeholders on implementation.

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

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

Nnamani said localising cloud infrastructure could also help reduce capital flight by keeping payments for cloud services within the country and potentially 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 in foreign direct investment into the country,” Nnamani said.

He added that the development could create opportunities for Nigerians to acquire skills in emerging technologies while generating employment, particularly for the country’s growing youth population.

Earlier, the Acting Director of NITDA’s Regulation and Compliance Department, Emmanuel Ede, said the inauguration represented a shift from developing Nigeria’s cloud guidelines to putting them into practice.

Edet said the taskforce would bring regulators, government agencies and private-sector stakeholders together to strengthen Nigeria’s digital sovereignty.

“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,” Edet said.

He said NITDA would continue working to help Nigeria take advantage of the opportunities presented by the digital economy.

The sovereign cloud initiative, therefore, is being positioned not only as a compliance framework for regulated institutions but also as a means of building local digital infrastructure, attracting investment and creating opportunities for Nigerian technology professionals. Director General, NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa gave his remarks and inaugurated the NSCI implementation task force at the agency’s headquarters