The Federal Government has moved to establish a stronger fiscal, procurement and investment framework for Nigeria’s National Sovereign Cloud Initiative (NSCI), with the inauguration of a Joint Technical Committee comprising key institutions across the digital economy and public finance ecosystem.
The committee, jointly established by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Budget Office of the Federation (BOF), is expected to address critical issues around government ICT expenditure, infrastructure financing, procurement, investment mobilisation and the sustainable adoption of cloud services across the public sector.
The Joint Technical Committee of the National Sovereign Cloud Initiative (JTC-NSCI) is chaired by the Director General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Yakubu, while NITDA Director General, Kashifu Inuwa, serves as co-chairman.
Its membership cuts across public finance, procurement, investment, connectivity, power and energy, cybersecurity, data governance and other critical areas required to drive Nigeria’s digital sovereignty agenda.
Inaugurating the committee, Yakubu described its mandate as addressing “an increasingly important question of state capacity,” particularly as government expenditure continues to rise alongside growing public dependence on digital infrastructure.
He said the committee must ensure that investments in digital infrastructure are properly supervised and structured to deliver efficiency, resilience and greater fiscal value to government.
“Our challenge is to ensure that these investments are properly planned, appropriately prioritized, fiscally sustainable, and capable of delivering greater value from public resources.
“The National Sovereign Cloud Initiative should therefore help us to improve efficiency and resilience, reduce available duplication, optimize existing capacity, and make better-informed investment decisions,’’ he said.
Yakubu cautioned against an approach in which government seeks to finance or own every component of the digital infrastructure ecosystem, advocating instead for the mobilisation of private capital, competitive markets and credible long-term demand to complement public investment.
He stressed that sovereign cloud implementation extends beyond technology, requiring coordinated action across several arms of government.
“Sovereign cloud implementation is not solely a technology matter. It cuts across public finance, budgeting, procurement, investment, power connectivity, cybersecurity, data governance, and central regulation. No single institution can address these issues in isolation. This interdependence is reflected in the breadth of ministries, departments, and agencies represented on the Joint Technical Committee,’’ the chairperson added.
According to Yakubu, the committee’s work must be practical, evidence-driven and result-oriented, with its performance assessed against tangible outcomes including improved utilisation of existing assets, reduced duplication, enhanced resilience, better value for public expenditure and increased private-sector investment.
Inuwa: Nigeria Must Take Control of Its Digital Future
For NITDA’s Director General and co-chairman of the committee, Kashifu Inuwa, the inauguration represents a significant step towards strengthening Nigeria’s capacity to control its data and build a more resilient digital economy.
Inuwa warned that excessive dependence on foreign digital infrastructure could leave critical aspects of Nigeria’s digital future at the mercy of overseas technology companies.
“This Joint Technical Committee of the National Sovereign Cloud Initiative (JTC-NSCI) is a defining step for Nigeria’s digital future. The level of interest the initiative has drawn since the underlying regulatory instrument was issued has been remarkable.
“Anything about the fourth industrial revolution relies on our digital infrastructure, connectivity, and computing power. Relying on foreign services for all this digital infrastructure means we are putting our future in the hands of these foreign companies. So, digital sovereignty is about building our capacity for digital self-determination.
“As a nation, we should determine our digital future. We should have control over our data. We should have control over our algorithms, our AI, and all our transactions,’’ the co-chairperson emphasised.
He disclosed that NITDA is working towards certifying cloud service and infrastructure providers that meet Nigeria’s sovereign cloud standards, as well as system integrators that will support banks and government institutions in migrating their workloads to compliant cloud environments.
Inuwa also said the NSCI would introduce a cloud-first approach designed to enable government agencies to reduce operational and capital costs associated with maintaining individual data centres.
He explained that the initiative would further support the harmonisation of regulatory requirements across government agencies while creating an environment capable of attracting private investment into the country’s cloud infrastructure ecosystem.
BPP Backs Procurement Reform
Also speaking at the inauguration, the Director General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Dr. Adebowale Adedokun, described the committee as a paradigm shift towards securing greater value for money across the economy.
Adedokun said the initiative is fully aligned with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act and pledged the BPP’s readiness to strengthen compliance and provide the necessary procurement support for the successful implementation of the cloud initiative.
He said a coordinated approach would help unlock investment, accelerate growth and ensure that scarce public resources are deployed more efficiently.
“Our competitors are not sleeping. Nigeria cannot sleep. It is time for us to use our collective understanding, partnership, and collaboration to secure our nation digitally. It is very clear that for the maximisation of scarce resources, this is the way to go. And there is no two ways for us to be at the same level with global digital communities,’’ said the BPP boss.
The inauguration of the JTC-NSCI underscores the Federal Government’s determination to coordinate the fiscal, regulatory, infrastructure, investment and security dimensions of Nigeria’s sovereign cloud agenda.
The committee is expected to provide a dedicated inter-agency platform for examining government ICT and cloud expenditure, total cost of ownership, utilisation of existing infrastructure, budget and procurement alignment, infrastructure financing, investment mobilisation and the broader fiscal implications of cloud adoption.
Beyond strengthening Nigeria’s control over its digital assets, the initiative is expected to provide a framework for reducing duplication in public-sector ICT investments, optimising existing infrastructure and creating greater opportunities for private-sector participation in the country’s emerging cloud economy.