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Nigeria’s digital regulators have raised fresh concerns over the country’s data sovereignty, revealing that more than 90 per cent of national data is hosted outside its borders, a trend they describe as a significant risk to security, economic resilience, and digital independence.
The warning came from the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) during the IoT West Africa Conference.
Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, represented by Dr. Aristotle Onumo, stressed that while infrastructure development is progressing, policy remains the most critical driver of sustainable digital transformation. He noted that a resilient digital ecosystem requires a coordinated, policy-led approach that stimulates both supply and demand.
Delivering a keynote address, NDPC National Commissioner, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, highlighted the implications of Nigeria’s reliance on offshore data hosting, warning that it exposes the country to vulnerabilities around data control, privacy, and national security.
He called for urgent investment in local data infrastructure, noting that Nigeria’s data centre market is projected to reach $1.9 billion by 2031.
At a panel session focused on building a Lagos–Abuja digital corridor, NITDA reiterated the importance of strategic frameworks such as the national broadband plan, which targets minimum internet speeds of 10 Mbps in rural areas and 25 Mbps in urban centres. These benchmarks, it said, are key to expanding access and guiding infrastructure rollout.
However, stakeholders emphasised that achieving nationwide scale will require stronger collaboration across government, private sector players, and civil society.
“Collaboration is the pathway that massifies impact, while partnership harnesses collective intelligence. No one can achieve this in isolation,” Onumo stated.
A central component of NITDA’s strategy is the Nigerian Sovereign Cloud Project, designed to strengthen local cloud providers, reduce dependence on foreign hyperscale platforms, and localise data hosting. The initiative also aims to lower costs and broaden access to cloud services.
The agency further highlighted the role of government in driving demand, including efforts to consolidate public sector servers and accelerate cloud adoption across ministries and agencies.
Public-private partnerships were identified as essential to building sustainable digital infrastructure, with a focus on shared ownership and long-term value creation.
Beyond infrastructure, NITDA pointed to ongoing capacity-building efforts, including its Digital Literacy for All programme, which targets equipping 70 per cent of Nigerians with digital skills by 2027. In collaboration with the National Youth Service Corps, digital literacy champions are being deployed across all 774 local government areas, with a goal of reaching 30 million citizens within three years.
Both agencies agreed that reducing reliance on foreign data hosting is not just a technical challenge but a strategic priority, one that will shape Nigeria’s competitiveness, economic security, and position in the global digital economy.
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