The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Budget Office of the Federation (BOF) have inaugurated a Joint Technical Committee for the National Sovereign Cloud Initiative (JTC-NSCI) to address critical fiscal, procurement, financing, investment and infrastructure issues required for the successful implementation of the initiative.
The committee is chaired by the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Yakubu, while the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, serves as co-chair.
Its membership comprises key government institutions with responsibilities spanning public finance, procurement, investment, connectivity, power and energy, cybersecurity and data governance, among other areas.
Speaking at the inauguration, Yakubu said the committee was addressing an increasingly important issue of state capacity, particularly as government spending on digital infrastructure continues to rise in response to growing public reliance on digital services.
According to him, the committee’s central responsibility is to ensure that investments in digital infrastructure are properly planned, prioritised and supervised to deliver efficiency, resilience and value for public funds.
‘Our challenge is to ensure that these investments are properly planned, appropriately prioritised, fiscally sustainable, and capable of delivering greater value from public resources. Exploring Public Finance Advisory Services
‘The National Sovereign Cloud Initiative should therefore help us to improve efficiency and resilience, reduce avoidable duplication, optimise existing capacity, and make better-informed investment decisions,’ Yakubu said.
He noted, however, that government does not necessarily need to finance or own every component of the country’s digital infrastructure ecosystem.
Yakubu called for an approach that would mobilise private capital, encourage competitive markets and create credible long-term demand to complement public investment.
According to him, sovereign cloud implementation extends beyond technology, cutting across public finance, budgeting, procurement, investment, power, connectivity, cybersecurity, data governance and regulation.
‘No single institution can address these issues in isolation,’ he said, stressing the importance of collaboration among the various ministries, departments and agencies represented on the committee. Monitoring Federal Legislative Bills
Yakubu said the committee’s work would be practical, evidence-driven and result-oriented, with progress measured by improved utilisation of existing assets, reduced duplication, stronger resilience, better value for public expenditure and increased private-sector investment.
In his remarks, Inuwa described the inauguration of the committee as a defining step towards strengthening Nigeria’s digital sovereignty and securing the future of its digital economy.
He warned that continued dependence on foreign digital infrastructure could leave Nigeria’s critical digital future in the hands of foreign companies.
‘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,’ Inuwa said.