Nigeria inaugurates technical committee for Sovereign Cloud Initiative

The Nigerian government has inaugurated the Joint Technical Committee of the National Sovereign Cloud Initiative (JTC-NSCI) in Abuja. The initiative aims to secure digital sovereignty, protect strategic national data, and optimize government spending on computing infrastructure.

Kashifu Inuwa, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), stated that the move is designed to foster digital self-determination. The initiative follows a ‘Cloud First Policy’ introduced in 2019, which sought to discourage government ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) from building expensive, siloed data centers in favor of more scalable cloud services.

The committee’s mandate covers technology, fiscal planning, procurement, and infrastructure investment. The government intends to introduce standards, licensing, and a marketplace for certified cloud service providers. This strategy aims to reduce reliance on foreign technology providers and build domestic capacity for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, ensuring Nigeria maintains control over its data, algorithms, and transactions.