WorldStage— The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has outlined a strategic policy framework aimed at converting Nigeria’s rapidly expanding digital demand into sustainable investment in data centres, cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, said the country’s ability to attract the next wave of technology infrastructure capital would depend on a combination of clear government policy, regulatory certainty, digital trust and a secure technology ecosystem.
Inuwa stated this during a high-level industry panel on “Converting Digital Demand into Data Centre Investment” at the recently concluded ITW Data Cloud Africa 2026.
He participated in the panel alongside Ike Nnamani of Digital Realty Nigeria, Wole Abu of Equinix, Temitope Osunrinde of Africa Hyperscalers and Cherotich Kiereini of Oracle.
According to Inuwa, government’s primary responsibility is to provide clear strategic direction and establish a stable policy environment that gives investors certainty over how digital infrastructure will be deployed, regulated and utilised.
He stressed that predictable regulation would enable data centre operators and other infrastructure investors to commit capital with greater confidence, while creating the conditions for sustained growth across Nigeria’s digital economy.
The NITDA boss also highlighted Nigeria’s strategic position in Africa’s digital infrastructure market, noting that the country’s advantage extends beyond its large population and growing consumer base.
He said rising demand for localised digital workloads, combined with Nigeria’s geographic position as a potential transit and connectivity hub for West and Central Africa, provides significant opportunities for data centre and cloud infrastructure investment.
Inuwa further pointed to Nigeria’s growing pool of technology talent as another competitive advantage, noting that local developers and innovators are increasingly capable of building solutions on modern digital infrastructure.
He, however, stressed that digital expansion must be accompanied by strong cybersecurity and trust frameworks to ensure the sustainability of investments in critical digital infrastructure.
He said NITDA was therefore embedding digital trust into national development through initiatives including the Digital Assurance Framework, the Cybercrime Act and the broader National Cybersecurity Architecture.
According to him, the government is also strengthening the principle of security-by-design, with government information technology projects subjected to cybersecurity clearance requirements covering infrastructure and digital systems.
He said such measures, spanning last-mile devices to critical national infrastructure, were designed to create a predictable and secure environment for the expansion of data centres, cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure in Nigeria.
Inuwa said sustained collaboration between government, regulators and private-sector technology operators would be critical to translating Nigeria’s growing digital demand into bankable infrastructure projects and positioning the country as a key digital infrastructure hub in Africa.
