*Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, unveils Nigeria’s digital infrastructure to global leaders during a high-level discussion at the Datacloud Global Congress 2026, held in Cannes, France
Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect
Malam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), recently joined other global leaders to participate in the closing keynote panel session at the Datacloud Global Congress 2026 held in Cannes, France.
Inuwa had joined global leaders to discuss the theme, “The Role of Digital Infrastructure in National Economies”.
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ConsumerConnect reports NITDA disclosed the high-level discussion, moderated by Mehdi Paryavi, IDCA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), explored the role of digital infrastructure in economic growth, AI strategy, digital sovereignty, workforce development, and national competitiveness.
The agency noted that the session featured distinguished speakers, including Ali Amur Al Shidhani, Undersecretary for Communications and Information Technology, Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT); Oman, Buddy Rizer, Chief Development Officer at IDCA; and NITDA Director-General Inuwa.
The Information Technology (IT) sector regulatory agency also said during the discussion, the NITDA Chief Executive underscored digital infrastructure as a critical enabler of economic growth, innovation, competitiveness, and national development.
He further highlighted Nigeria’s ongoing efforts, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, at diversifying the economy through digitalisation, technology-led development, and strategic digital infrastructure expansion.
NITDA on National Cloud Policy
Speaking on Nigeria’s policy direction on this emerging technology, Malam Inuwa emphasised the National Cloud Policy, which promotes cloud adoption across government institutions and prioritises the hosting of government data within Nigeria to strengthen digital sovereignty, would improve public service delivery, stimulate the domestic cloud ecosystem, and deepen trust in digital systems.
The Director-General further highlighted the establishment of a Technical Working Group comprising ecosystem players, industry stakeholders, and hyperscalers to guide Nigeria’s sovereign cloud adoption agenda, develop technical standards, strengthen governance frameworks, and mobilise investments required to accelerate trusted cloud infrastructure development.
Inuwa further stressed the need for increased investments in data centres, cloud infrastructure, Broadband connectivity, and emerging technologies to unlock the Nigeria Digital Economy ambitions, and position the country as a leading digital hub in Africa.
He noted that expanding broadband penetration, advancing artificial intelligence development, and deliberate policy implementation remain critical to accelerating innovation, enabling scalable digital services, and driving economic transformation.
Nigeria committed to strategic partnerships, investments
Inuwa also showcased Nigeria’s comparative advantages as an emerging digital investment destination, citing the country’s large and youthful population, vibrant innovation ecosystem, resilient entrepreneurial culture, growing digital talent base, and ongoing reforms aimed at creating an enabling environment for digital infrastructure investments.
The Director-General also restated Nigeria’s commitment to fostering strategic partnerships and mobilising investments that accelerate the development of cloud infrastructure, data centres, connectivity, artificial intelligence, and digital public infrastructure to strengthen the country’s position as a globally competitive digital economy.
The agency explained that Datacloud Global Congress convenes policymakers, investors, hyperscalers, cloud providers, data centre operators, and digital infrastructure stakeholders from around the world.
The objective is to shape the future of global digital infrastructure and investment, NITDA stated.