{"id":3379,"date":"2026-08-21T21:53:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T21:53:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=3379"},"modified":"2026-08-21T22:52:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T22:52:34","slug":"nitda-budget-office-inaugurate-joint-technical-committee-to-advance-sovereign-cloud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=3379","title":{"rendered":"NITDA, Budget Office inaugurate joint technical committee to advance sovereign cloud\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>*<strong><em>The National Information Technology Development Agency affirms the Joint Technical Committee with Budget Office of the Federation is established to address key fiscal, expenditure, procurement, financing and investment considerations required for the effective implementation of the Initiative in Nigeria <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect<\/p>\n<p>The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Budget Office of the Federation (BOF), have formally inaugurated the Joint Technical Committee of the National Sovereign Cloud Initiative (JTC-NSCI).<\/p>\n<p>The Joint Technical Committee is set up to address key fiscal, expenditure, procurement, financing and investment considerations required for the effective implementation of the Initiative.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"ilcALfPjJm\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=3393\">Corruption: Tinubu directs arrest of 1, suspension of 3 Perm Secs as ICPC uncovers another \u2018fake\u2019 agency<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cCorruption: Tinubu directs arrest of 1, suspension of 3 Perm Secs as ICPC uncovers another \u2018fake\u2019 agency\u201d \u2014 Consumer Experience Is A Top Priority\" src=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=3393&amp;embed=true#?secret=4z1pIiCGbd#?secret=ilcALfPjJm\" data-secret=\"ilcALfPjJm\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>ConsumerConnect<\/em> reports Tanimu Yakubu, Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, chairs the Committee with Malam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi CCIE, Director-General of NITDA, serving as Co-chair.<\/p>\n<p>The agency also disclosed the committee comprises government institutions across public finance, procurement, investment, connectivity, power and energy, cybersecurity, data governance, among others.<\/p>\n<p>Declaring the committee duly inaugurated, Yakubu described the assignment as addressing \u201can increasingly important question of state capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Director-General of the Budget Office noted that government expenditure has continued to rise as public reliance on digital infrastructure deepens.<\/p>\n<p>He explained that the central task before the committee is to ensure that such investments are effectively supervised to deliver efficiency and essential fiscal value across the government\u2019s digital infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>Yakubu was quoted to have said: \u201cOur challenge is to ensure that these investments are properly planned, appropriately prioritized, fiscally sustainable, and capable of delivering greater value from public resources.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe National Sovereign Cloud Initiative should therefore help us to improve efficiency and resilience, reduce available duplication, optimize existing capacity, and make better-informed investment decisions.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He, however, said that the government did not need to finance, or own every component of the digital infrastructure ecosystem. He urged an approach that mobilises private capital, competitive markets, and credible long-term demand to complement public investments.<\/p>\n<p>According to him, the sovereign cloud implementation is an initiative that goes beyond the technology space, as it involves a wide range of public sector operators. He stressed that addressing the issues requires the collaborative efforts of the relevant institutions.<\/p>\n<p>The Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation further said: \u201cSovereign cloud implementation is not solely a technology matter.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It cuts across public finance, budgeting, procurement, investment, power connectivity, cybersecurity, data governance, and central regulation.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>According to him, no single institution can address these issues in isolation.<\/p>\n<p>He also stated that this interdependence is reflected in the breadth of ministries, departments, and agencies represented on the Joint Technical Committee.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Insight into Budget Office&#8217;s mandate, by Yakubu<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Outlining the committee&#8217;s mandate, Yakubu said its work is expected to be practical, evidence-driven and result-oriented.<\/p>\n<p>The Chief Executive of the Budget said the progress of the committee would be measured through improved utilisation of existing assets, reduced duplication, stronger resilience, better value for public expenditure, and increased private investment.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier, Inuwa NITDA Director-General and co-chairman of the JTC \u2013 NSCI, had described the newly inaugurated committee as a laudable initiative capable of empowering Nigeria to take control of its data and reinforce the digital economy.<\/p>\n<p>He warned that reliance on foreign digital infrastructure puts the country&#8217;s future &#8220;in the hands of foreign companies&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis Joint Technical Committee of the National Sovereign Cloud Initiative (JTC-NSCI) is a defining step for Nigeria&#8217;s digital future.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The push for digital sovereignty <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The level of interest the initiative has drawn since the underlying regulatory instrument was issued has been remarkable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnything about the fourth industrial revolution relies on our digital infrastructure, connectivity, and computing power.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Relying on foreign services for all this digital infrastructure means we are putting our future in the hands of these foreign companies,\u201d&nbsp; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Inuwa stated: &#8220;So, digital sovereignty is about building our capacity for digital self-determination.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a nation, we should determine our digital future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe should have control over our data. We should have control over our algorithms, our AI, and all our transactions,\u2019\u2019 the co-chairperson emphasised.<\/p>\n<p>On implementation, Inuwa said NITDA is working toward certifying cloud service and infrastructure providers that meet Nigeria&#8217;s sovereign cloud standard, alongside system integrators to help banks and government agencies migrate workloads.<\/p>\n<p>Also, the co-chairman explained that JTC-NSCI introduces a cloud-first policy, which will enable agencies to cut costs, operational budgets, and the burden of running their own data centres.<\/p>\n<p>He added that the committee will help harmonise regulatory issues across agencies and attract private investors.<\/p>\n<p>In his vobteiz during the inauguration, the Director General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Dr. Adebowale Adedokun, described the committee as a paradigm shift toward achieving value for money across all sectors of the economy.<\/p>\n<p>Adedokun noted that this initiative is fully aligned with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act and expressed the organisation\u2019s readiness to strengthen compliance to enable the cloud initiative to succeed and boost rapid investment and growth in the industry.<\/p>\n<p>He also declared: \u201cOur competitors are not sleeping. Nigeria cannot sleep.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is time for us to use our collective understanding, partnership, and collaboration to secure our nation digitally.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is very clear that for the maximisation of scarce resources, this is the way to go. And there is no two ways for us to be at the same level with global digital communities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The formal inauguration of the JTC-NSCI signals the Federal government\u2019s resolve to ensure a more coordinated implementation of Nigeria&#8217;s sovereign cloud agenda by bringing together the institutions responsible for the fiscal, regulatory, infrastructure, investment, security, and other enabling components necessary for successful implementation.<\/p>\n<p>The JTC-NSCI will also provide a focused inter-agency platform for examining issues including Government ICT and cloud expenditure, total cost of ownership, utilisation of existing infrastructure, budget and procurement alignment, infrastructure financing, investment mobilisation and the fiscal implications of cloud adoption.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>*The National Information Technology Development Agency affirms the Joint Technical Committee with Budget Office of the Federation is established to address key fiscal, expenditure, procurement,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3389,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"Malam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, Director-General, Flanked in a Group Photograph with Tanimu Yakubu, Director-General of Budget Office of the Federation; Prof. Ibrahim Adepoju Adeyanju, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Backbone Limited; Dr. Adebowale A. Adedokun, Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, and Another Member of the Joint Technical Committee- National Sovereignty Cloud Initiative after the JTC- NSCI Meeting at the Agency\u2019s Headquarters, in Abuja, FCT\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Photo: NITDA","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","_customify_content_layout":"","_customify_sidebar":"","_customify_page_header_display":"default","_customify_disable_header":"","_customify_disable_header_top":"","_customify_disable_header_main":"","_customify_disable_header_bottom":"","_customify_disable_page_title":"","_customify_disable_content_vertical_padding":"","_customify_disable_footer_top":"","_customify_disable_footer_main":"","_customify_disable_footer_bottom":"","_customify_breadcrumb_display":"","_customify_header_transparent_display":"default","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,3,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-highlights","category-infoeducation","category-markets"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/NITDA-at-Meeting-of-JTC-NSCI-cc.png",672,365,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/NITDA-at-Meeting-of-JTC-NSCI-cc-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/NITDA-at-Meeting-of-JTC-NSCI-cc-300x163.png",300,163,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/NITDA-at-Meeting-of-JTC-NSCI-cc.png",672,365,false],"large":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/NITDA-at-Meeting-of-JTC-NSCI-cc.png",672,365,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/NITDA-at-Meeting-of-JTC-NSCI-cc.png",672,365,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/NITDA-at-Meeting-of-JTC-NSCI-cc.png",672,365,false]},"author_info":{"info":["ConsumerConnect"]},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?cat=20\" rel=\"category\">Highlights<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?cat=3\" rel=\"category\">InfoEducation<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?cat=4\" rel=\"category\">Markets<\/a>","tag_info":"Markets","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3379"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3401,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3379\/revisions\/3401"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}