Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has raised concerns over data sovereignty, national security as well as loss of economic value, as over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s data is hosted abroad.
Vincent Olatunji, national commissioner/CEO, NDPC, stressed the importance of safeguarding Nigeria’s digital economy through strong data protection and privacy frameworks.
He spoke while while delivering a keynote address at the IoT West Africa Conference, where he stated that the trend poses significant risks to Nigeria’s control over its digital assets.
He further described the situation as precarious for the nation’s sovereignty, and called for urgent investment in local data infrastructure.
Olatunji, highlighted data sovereignty, the growing role of data centres, and regulatory expectations under the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, noting both the benefits of compliance and the risks of non-compliance. Olatunji underscored that data centres are now critical infrastructure for Nigeria’s digital transformation.
While decrying that over 90 percent of the Nigeria’s data is hosted abroad which is precarious for the nation’s sovereignty he encouraged for more investment in the sector as it is projected to reach $1.9 billion by 2031.
Also speaking, Kashifu Inuwa, the director-general of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), said policy is emerging as the key driver of Nigeria’s digital transformation, particularly in shaping the development of the Lagos-Abuja digital corridor.
“While infrastructure responds to demand, policy creates the enabling environment for sustainable growth,”
Inuwa who was represented by Aristotle Onumo, director, stakeholders management and partnership at the IoT West Africa Conference in Lagos, on the theme “The Lagos-Abuja Digital Corridor: Building Africa’s Next Data Centre and Cloud Hub.”
Inuwa emphasised that while infrastructure responds to demand, policy remains the critical driver that creates an enabling environment for sustainable digital growth.
He explained that Nigeria’s broadband policy, which stipulates minimum speeds of 10 Mbps for rural areas and 25 Mbps for urban centres, provides a strategic framework for prioritising infrastructure deployment along the Lagos-Abuja digital corridor.
He cautioned, however, that without deliberate collaboration and partnership between government, the private sector, and civil society, widespread infrastructure rollout would remain challenging. “Collaboration is the pathway that massifies impact, while partnership harnesses collective intelligence. No one can achieve this in isolation,” he said.
Inuwa also spoke on the Nigerian Sovereign Cloud Project; a flagship initiative aimed at strengthening indigenous cloud service providers and preventing the dominance of Nigeria’s digital infrastructure by foreign hyperscale operators.
By scaling local infrastructure to meet global standards, the project seeks to domesticate data hosting, reduce operational costs, and improve access to cloud services across the country.
