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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reaffirmed its commitment to data localisation, stressing that stronger data sovereignty policies are essential to protecting Nigeria’s economic and security interests while supporting the growth of its digital economy. The push comes as a National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) survey found that 59% of 44 financial institutions covered by its detailed analysis expect to complete their migration to local data hosting by January 1, 2027.
The Director of Payments System Supervision at the CBN, Dr Rakiya Yusuf, made the remarks while delivering the keynote address at the seventh CIO & C-Suite Conference and Awards Africa in Lagos. Speaking on the theme, “Policy, Regulation and Data Sovereignty,” she said the rapid growth of digital payments, e-commerce, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and platform-based services had made effective data governance increasingly important to Nigeria’s economic development.
CBN highlights the importance of data sovereignty
Yusuf said Nigeria needed a trusted, inclusive and resilient digital economy capable of supporting innovation, attracting investment and delivering sustainable growth. She emphasised that stronger oversight of digital infrastructure and data management would be critical as businesses and financial institutions became increasingly dependent on technology.
As part of its response, the CBN issued a circular on June 15, 2026, directing financial institutions and participating payment facilitators to ensure that payment transaction data generated in Nigeria were stored and managed locally, in accordance with applicable data protection laws and regulations.
The January 1, 2027 deadline is a significant milestone in the implementation of the policy, which seeks to strengthen domestic oversight of payment data and the digital infrastructure supporting Nigeria’s financial system.
NITDA survey reveals uneven migration progress
Speaking at the Executive Regulatory Dialogue on the Implementation of the National Sovereign Cloud Initiative and Data Localisation in Lagos, NITDA Director-General Kashifu Inuwa said Nigeria needed the capacity to maintain essential digital services without relying entirely on infrastructure located outside its borders.
Presenting the survey findings, NITDA’s Special Adviser to the Director-General, Dr Muhammad Aminu, said 59% of the 44 financial institutions covered by the detailed analysis expected to complete their migration by January 1, 2027.
However, only 39% of responding financial institutions reported that the systems covered by the requirements were already fully hosted and managed within Nigeria. Aminu also disclosed that 22 institutions were not yet implementing any measures, while 29 were seeking further clarification on the requirements.
The findings point to varying levels of readiness among financial institutions as the compliance deadline approaches. They also highlight the importance of clarifying regulatory expectations and assessing the practical steps required to complete migration.
Local infrastructure providers report capacity to support migration
The NITDA survey also examined the readiness of digital infrastructure providers to support the financial sector’s transition to local hosting.
According to Aminu, 79% of responding providers said they were ready to accommodate new financial data, while 74% reported that they could onboard new financial sector customers within three months.
He noted a gap between the readiness reported by infrastructure providers and the progress financial institutions had made towards meeting the requirements. This distinction is important as the availability of local hosting capacity does not necessarily mean that individual institutions have completed the technical, operational and regulatory work needed to migrate their systems.
The dialogue, convened by NITDA and the CBN, brought together financial institutions and technology providers to discuss implementation of the National Sovereign Cloud Initiative and the data localisation requirements.
NITDA links local hosting to operational resilience
Inuwa said Nigeria’s growing dependence on digital infrastructure made greater control over the technology supporting its economy increasingly important.
He asked participants to consider the potential consequences of a major submarine cable disruption or geopolitical crisis that could prevent Nigerian banks from accessing critical infrastructure hosted abroad. Such an incident, he warned, could disrupt money transfers, prevent businesses from receiving payments and affect banks’ ability to process transactions.
He clarified that digital sovereignty did not mean isolating Nigeria or developing every technology domestically. Rather, it involved building the capacity to maintain control over critical infrastructure and reduce vulnerabilities arising from excessive dependence on external systems.
NITDA is working with the CBN to make the financial sector the first to comply with the National Sovereign Cloud Initiative. Inuwa added that telecommunications companies, technology providers and other industry participants would also have important roles in its implementation.
The agency is developing an assurance framework and plans to adopt existing international certifications while exploring national certification options. The framework is intended to give users greater choice in assessing and selecting digital infrastructure providers.
CBN stresses cybersecurity beyond data localisation
Meanwhile, Lamido Yuguda of the CBN’s Financial Systems Stability Directorate said data had become a critical national asset as digital payments, fintech, mobile money and digital banking continued to expand across Nigeria.
He noted that increased dependence on cloud computing and digital infrastructure had heightened concerns about cybersecurity, operational resilience, data protection, third-party dependencies and regulatory oversight.
Yuguda reiterated that regulated institutions were expected to store and manage critical payment transaction data within Nigeria in line with applicable regulatory requirements and the January 1, 2027 implementation timeline.
However, he cautioned that local data hosting alone would not guarantee security. Financial institutions and their critical technology partners must also maintain effective cybersecurity, business continuity, disaster recovery and risk management arrangements to ensure that essential financial services remain secure and available.
As the deadline approaches, the survey findings underline the need for financial institutions to make progress on implementation while addressing operational and security risks. The effectiveness of Nigeria’s data localisation policy will depend not only on where data is hosted, but also on the resilience, security and reliability of the systems responsible for protecting and processing it.
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