The Federal Government has invested more than N3.8 trillion in information technology infrastructure since 2023, according to the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, Kashifu Inuwa.

Inuwa disclosed this during a television interview while discussing the government’s National Sovereign Cloud Initiative and its plans to develop local capacity in cloud computing, data centres and other digital infrastructure.

He said the scale of the government’s existing spending on IT provides an opportunity to direct more resources towards developing local digital infrastructure and increasing demand for cloud and data-centre services within Nigeria.

Inuwa explained that government records showed that more than N3.8 trillion had so far been spent on IT infrastructure.

He said the government could use the existing level of investment to develop domestic capacity instead of allowing technology spending to remain fragmented across different government agencies.

He argued that directing more of the investment towards local infrastructure would help strengthen Nigeria’s digital ecosystem.

The NITDA boss also disclosed that the government had adopted a Cloud-First strategy, under which ministries, departments and agencies would be discouraged from establishing individual data centres and server rooms and encouraged to migrate to cloud infrastructure.

He said the government was equally creating a supportive policy and regulatory environment for foreign hyperscalers and other technology companies interested in establishing infrastructure in Nigeria.

Inuwa explained that the initiative was not intended to shut out foreign technology providers but to encourage them to partner with Nigeria in developing local infrastructure.

Nigeria’s efforts to strengthen domestic cloud and digital infrastructure have expanded through various regulatory and policy initiatives.

The government has introduced measures aimed at encouraging cloud adoption, improving data governance and creating a clearer environment for investment in digital infrastructure.

The push gained further momentum after financial institutions and other payment-system operators were directed to keep payment transaction data generated in Nigeria within the country, with a compliance deadline set for January 1, 2027.

NITDA also introduced a Sovereign Cloud Framework and the Federal Government unveiled a National Digital Cloud Policy designed to encourage greater cloud adoption and investment.

NITDA and the Budget Office have also established a Joint Technical Committee to develop the fiscal, procurement and investment structures required to implement the National Sovereign Cloud Initiative.

The latest disclosure by Inuwa gives a clearer indication of the scale of government spending as Nigeria seeks to develop a stronger domestic cloud and data-centre ecosystem.

Nigeria’s drive towards sovereign cloud infrastructure comes as demand for data-centre capacity continues to increase due to the growth of cloud computing, fintech services and artificial intelligence.

The country had about 66 megawatts of third-party data-centre capacity as of late 2024, with several hundred megawatts of additional capacity reportedly in development.

Industry projections indicate that Nigeria’s data-centre capacity could increase substantially over the coming years as investment in digital infrastructure continues to expand.