By 
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Budget Office of the Federation (BOF) have inaugurated a multi-agency Joint Technical Committee for the National Sovereign Cloud Initiative (JTC-NSCI), marking a major step towards coordinating Nigeria’s efforts to strengthen digital sovereignty, optimise government ICT spending and attract private investment into cloud infrastructure.
RELATED: Nigeria targets $750m private investment with new National Digital Cloud Policy
The committee will address critical issues surrounding fiscal planning, public expenditure, procurement, infrastructure financing, investment mobilisation, cybersecurity, data governance, connectivity and power requirements necessary for the successful implementation of Nigeria’s sovereign cloud agenda.
The Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Yakubu, will chair the committee, while the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, will serve as co-chair.
The membership cuts across institutions responsible for public finance, procurement, investment, digital infrastructure, energy, connectivity, cybersecurity, regulation and data governance.
Sovereign Cloud Initiative Targets Efficiency and Better Value for Government Spending
Declaring the Joint Technical Committee formally inaugurated, Yakubu described the assignment as one that addresses an increasingly important question of state capacity as governments become more dependent on digital infrastructure.
He said the growing reliance on digital systems had increased government expenditure, making it necessary to ensure that investments in ICT and cloud infrastructure were properly planned, prioritised and fiscally sustainable.
According to him, one of the committee’s central responsibilities would be to ensure that government investments in digital infrastructure deliver greater value for public resources.
“Our challenge is to ensure that these investments are properly planned, appropriately prioritised, fiscally sustainable, and capable of delivering greater value from public resources,” Yakubu said.
Adding:
“The National Sovereign Cloud Initiative should therefore help us to improve efficiency and resilience, reduce available duplication, optimise existing capacity, and make better-informed investment decisions.”
The committee is expected to examine government ICT and cloud expenditure, total cost of ownership, existing infrastructure utilisation and ways of reducing duplication across ministries, departments and agencies.
Government Seeks Private Capital for Nigeria’s Cloud Infrastructure
Yakubu stressed that the Federal Government did not necessarily need to finance or own every component of Nigeria’s digital infrastructure ecosystem.
Instead, he called for an implementation approach that combines strategic public investment with private capital, competitive markets and credible long-term demand.
The approach could create opportunities for private-sector participation in the development of cloud infrastructure while enabling the government to focus on establishing the policy, regulatory, fiscal and demand frameworks required to support investment.
He also noted that sovereign cloud implementation extended beyond technology and required coordination among institutions responsible for budgeting, procurement, investment, energy, connectivity, cybersecurity and data governance.
“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,” he said.
Yakubu added that the committee’s performance would be measured by practical outcomes, including improved utilisation of existing assets, reduced infrastructure duplication, stronger digital resilience, better value for public expenditure and increased private investment.
NITDA Says Digital Sovereignty Is About Nigeria Controlling Its Digital Future
NITDA Director-General and co-chairman of the JTC-NSCI, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, described the committee’s inauguration as an important step towards strengthening Nigeria’s digital self-determination.
He said the growing dependence of economies and governments on connectivity, computing power and digital infrastructure had made control over critical digital assets increasingly important.
According to Abdullahi, excessive dependence on foreign-owned digital infrastructure could leave a country’s digital future largely dependent on decisions made outside its borders.
“This Joint Technical Committee of the National Sovereign Cloud Initiative is a defining step for Nigeria’s digital future,” Abdullahi said.
“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.”
He explained that digital sovereignty involved strengthening Nigeria’s capacity for digital self-determination, including greater control over data, algorithms, artificial intelligence and digital transactions.
“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,” he added.
NITDA Moves to Certify Sovereign Cloud Providers
As part of the implementation process, Abdullahi said NITDA was working towards certifying cloud service providers and infrastructure operators that meet Nigeria’s sovereign cloud standards.
The Agency also plans to recognise system integrators capable of supporting banks, government agencies and other institutions as they migrate workloads to compliant cloud environments.
The initiative is expected to create a clearer framework for the development and deployment of cloud infrastructure capable of meeting Nigeria’s requirements for security, resilience and data governance.
The proposed framework could also encourage the growth of indigenous cloud capacity while maintaining opportunities for qualified providers and investors to participate in the market.
Cloud-First Policy Could Reduce Cost of Government Data Centres
Abdullahi said the sovereign cloud initiative would introduce a cloud-first policy designed to encourage government institutions to reduce the cost and operational burden associated with independently operating data centres.
Under such an approach, agencies could increasingly rely on shared and approved cloud infrastructure rather than duplicating investments in separate computing and storage facilities.
The Joint Technical Committee will also work to harmonise regulatory issues affecting cloud adoption across government institutions.
By bringing together agencies with overlapping responsibilities, the government hopes to develop a more coordinated approach to procurement, investment, regulation and infrastructure development.
BPP Pledges Procurement Support for Sovereign Cloud Programme
Also speaking at the inauguration, Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, Dr Adebowale Adedokun, described the committee as an important step towards strengthening value for money in public expenditure.
He said the initiative was aligned with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act and pledged the Bureau’s support in strengthening compliance and enabling the implementation of the sovereign cloud programme.
According to Adedokun, Nigeria must strengthen collaboration among public institutions and stakeholders to remain competitive in the rapidly evolving global digital economy.
“Our competitors are not sleeping. Nigeria cannot sleep,” he said.
“It is time for us to use our collective understanding, partnership, and collaboration to secure our nation digitally.”
He added that effective collaboration and better utilisation of scarce resources would be critical to enabling Nigeria to strengthen its position within the global digital community.
Multi-Agency Committee to Coordinate Sovereign Cloud Implementation
The inauguration of the JTC-NSCI signals the Federal Government’s intention to adopt a more coordinated approach to implementing Nigeria’s sovereign cloud agenda.
The committee will serve as an inter-agency platform for addressing the fiscal, regulatory, infrastructure, security and investment issues that could determine the success of the initiative.
Key areas expected to be examined include government cloud expenditure, total cost of ownership, utilisation of existing digital infrastructure, budget and procurement alignment, infrastructure financing, investment mobilisation and the broader fiscal implications of cloud adoption.
By bringing institutions with different mandates into a single implementation framework, the government aims to reduce fragmentation and establish a clearer pathway for deploying sovereign cloud infrastructure.
The initiative also reflects Nigeria’s broader push to build greater domestic capacity in cloud computing, data infrastructure and artificial intelligence as these technologies become increasingly central to government operations, business competitiveness and national digital security.
