The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, has said that the Federal Government plans to partner with Big Tech firms and hyperscalers to set up hyperscale data centers in Nigeria, aiming to enhance the country’s data sovereignty,

Speaking at the 3rd Biennial Corporate Governance and Enterprise Development Conference in Lagos on Tuesday, Abdullahi explained that the project will allow Nigeria to take control of data currently held by foreign tech companies.

He added that NITDA’s “Cloud First” strategy is designed to attract hyperscalers while boosting local infrastructure and developing homegrown talent.

“Today we don’t have data sovereignty; our data is on social media, Google, Microsoft and others, and they decide what we see, what we believe, and what we buy,” Abdullahi said.

“We are working with Big Tech, the hyperscalers, and coming up with laws that will help us build hyperscale data center capability in Nigeria.”

He stated that the government’s strategy focuses on classifying data to determine which must remain in Nigeria and which can be stored on public cloud platforms.

Abdullahi further noted that Nigeria has introduced the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy and the Standard for Artificial Intelligence Adoption, and is testing the Ethical Standard for Deploying Artificial Intelligence. He added that the forthcoming Online Harm Protection Bill will harmonize regulations for both online and offline spaces.

Abdullahi stressed that for Nigeria to fully harness artificial intelligence, AI systems must be adapted to reflect the nation’s culture, values, and context; otherwise, digital systems risk making decisions that ignore local realities.

He revealed that Nigeria is developing its own large language models and building AI systems that prioritize societal needs, including classifying data to determine what must remain within the country versus what can be hosted on public cloud platforms.

Abdullahi added that the government’s Cloud First strategy aims to attract hyperscalers to establish data centres in Nigeria, which will also help nurture local talent.

This positions Nigeria as a growing hub for data centre and AI infrastructure in Africa, balancing data sovereignty with regional collaboration.

On AI governance, he noted that emerging technologies cannot rely solely on existing laws or past regulatory frameworks.

To address this, the government has created a regulatory intelligence framework to guide AI adoption, emphasizing collaboration and the development of practical use cases before formal regulation is applied.

In line with its data governance initiatives, NITDA is also spearheading a major project to set up at least 1,600 Information and Communication Technology centres nationwide, reinforcing its commitment to digital inclusion for all Nigerians.

Over the past two years, the agency has successfully established 222 ICT facilities, including community centres, school labs equipped with ICT tools, and dedicated ICT hubs.