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The Federal Government is targeting about $1 billion in annual public-sector Information Technology (IT) spending on local cloud infrastructure as part of efforts to reduce reliance on offshore servers and deepen domestic digital capacity.
The Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Abdullahi, disclosed this at a workshop on “Nigeria’s Digital Infrastructure Opportunity” during ITW Data Cloud Africa 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya.
According to a statement from the agency, Abdullahi said the government was seeking to consolidate fragmented public-sector technology spending under its newly institutionalised Cloud-First Policy, creating predictable demand for local cloud and shared digital infrastructure.
He said 326 Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) spent N3.89 trillion, equivalent to about $2.9 billion, on technology investments between 2023 and mid-2026.
According to him, government demand alone generates nearly $1 billion annually, which the government intends to increasingly channel towards cloud infrastructure and shared architecture.
He said the move was aimed at creating a stronger market for private infrastructure providers while reducing the duplication of investments in isolated public data centres.
He added that the agency was establishing a single-interface portal to streamline compliance across different government bodies and reduce regulatory duplication for technology investors and users.
The NITDA DG said the framework would also allow sector regulators, including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to adopt shared baseline requirements, making it easier for financial institutions to migrate core data to local cloud platforms without navigating multiple layers of regulatory approvals.
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He said the government’s approach was focused on creating a competitive market and ensuring international interoperability rather than imposing rigid data localisation requirements.
Abdullahi said the need to expand domestic cloud capacity had become more urgent as existing local data capacity was operating at nearly 90 per cent utilisation, leaving Nigeria heavily dependent on offshore resources.
He said the country’s digital infrastructure market was being supported by rising connectivity, with broadband penetration exceeding 56 per cent, alongside 192 million mobile subscribers and 157 million internet users.
According to him, available research indicates that every dollar invested in Nigeria’s digital infrastructure generates about eight dollars in broader economic returns, while the domestic cloud market is projected to rise from $376 million in 2026 to more than $783 million by 2031.
Beyond Nigeria, Abdullahi said the government was positioning the country to support digital infrastructure development across West and Central Africa.
“The ambition extends across Central and West Africa. Leveraging Nigeria’s geographical position as a natural transit hub for landlocked neighbours, the National Digital Cloud Policy targets 750 million dollars in total digital infrastructure investments within two years, starting with 250 million dollars in private capital within the first year. By harmonising standards with partner states, Nigeria aims to pave the way for cross-border data transfer frameworks that offer true digital self-determination, giving African nations full agency over how their data is secured, hosted, and scaled on home soil,” the statement added.
