NITDA, Budget Office Inaugurate Multi-Agency Technical Committee To Advance Sovereign Cloud Implementation

By Angeline Mgbele, Bureau Chief, Northern Nigeria

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Budget Office of the Federation (BOF), have formally inaugurated the Joint Technical Committee of the National Sovereign Cloud Initiative (JTC-NSCI) to address key fiscal, expenditure, procurement, financing and investment considerations required for the effective implementation of the Initiative.

This is according to a press statement e-signed by the Director of Corporate Communications and Media Relations at NITDA, Hajia Hadiza Umar.

Chaired by the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation,Tanimu Yakubu, with the Director-General of NITDA, Mallam  Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi , serving as co-chair, the committee comprises government institutions across public finance, procurement, investment, connectivity, power and energy, cybersecurity, data governance, among others.

Declaring the committee duly inaugurated, Yakubu described the assignment as addressing “an increasingly important question of statecapacity,” noting that government expenditure had  continued to rise as public reliance on digital infrastructure deepened.

He explained that the central task before the committee was to ensure that such investments were effectively supervised to deliver efficiency and essential fiscal value across the government’s digital infrastructure.

“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, however, said that the government did not need to finance or own every component of the digital infrastructure ecosystem.  He called for an approach that mobilized  private capital, competitive markets, and credible long-term demand to complement public investments.

According to him, the sovereign cloud implementation was an initiative that went beyond the technology space, as it involved a wide range of public sector operators. He stressed that addressing the issues required the collaborative efforts of the relevant institutions.

“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.

Outlining the committee’s mandate, Yakubu said its work was expected to be practical, evidence-driven and result-oriented. He said the progress of the committee would be measured through improved utilisation of existing assets, reduced duplication, stronger resilience, better value for public expenditure, and increased private investment.

Earlier, the NITDA DG and co-chairman of the JTC – NSCI,  Mallam Abdullahi, described the newly inaugurated committee as a laudable initiative capable of empowering Nigeria to take control of its data and reinforce the digital economy. Abdullahi warned that reliance on foreign digital infrastructure put the country’s future in the hands of foreign 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.

On implementation, Abdullahi said NITDA was working toward certifying cloud service and infrastructure providers that met Nigeria’s sovereign cloud standard, alongside system integrators to help banks and government agencies migrate workloads.

Also, he explained that JTC-NSCI introduced a cloud-first policy, which would enable agencies cut costs, operationalise budgets, and the burden of running their own data centres. He added that the committee would help harmonise regulatory issues across agencies and attract private investors.

Also speaking during the inauguration, the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Dr. Adebowale Adedokun, described the committee as a paradigm shift toward achieving value for money across all sectors of the economy.

Dr. Adedokun noted that this initiative was fully aligned with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act and expressed the organisation’s readiness to strengthen compliance to enable the cloud initiative to succeed and boost rapid investment and growth in the industry.

“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 Adedokun.

The formal inauguration of the JTC-NSCI signals the Federal government’s resolve to ensure a more coordinated implementation of Nigeria’s sovereign cloud agenda by bringing together the institutions responsible for the fiscal, regulatory, infrastructure, investment, security, and other enabling components necessary for successful implementation.

The JTC-NSCI will also provide a focused inter-agency platform for examining issues including Government ICT and cloud expenditure, total cost of ownership, utilisation of existing infrastructure, budget and procurement alignment, infrastructure financing, investment mobilization and the fiscal implications of cloud adoption.