NITDA pushes ‘one government, one interface' to unlock Nigeria's digital infrastructure investment

By IT Edge News.Africa Nigeria could be moving towards a new era of digital regulation in which investors deal with one coordinated government interface rather than a maze of overlapping agencies, as the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) pushes co-regulation and regulatory alignment to accelerate digital infrastructure investment. ADVERTISEMENT NITDA Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, made the case for a more unified regulatory architecture while speaking at a Regulatory Roundtable session titled 'Regulations that Builds: Aligning Policy and Digital Infrastructure Investment Priorities' at the ITW Africa x Datacloud Africa 2026 event. His intervention comes as Nigeria and other African markets compete for investment in data centres, cloud infrastructure, fibre networks, subsea cables, artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing—sectors where regulatory uncertainty and fragmented approvals can significantly increase the cost and time required to deploy infrastructure. Investors Want One Government, Not Fragmented Regulators Abdullahi said foreign and domestic investors increasingly want government agencies to operate as a coordinated system rather than as disconnected institutions with overlapping responsibilities. ADVERTISEMENT The NITDA boss argued that internally aligning government agencies around a single regulatory interface could eliminate duplication, simplify licensing processes and provide investors with clearer and more predictable timelines. For investors deploying capital into infrastructure that can require significant upfront expenditure, predictability is particularly important. A fragmented regulatory environment can create uncertainty around approvals, compliance requirements and project timelines, potentially slowing infrastructure deployment and increasing costs. The proposed approach seeks to turn regulation from a potential barrier into part of the investment-enabling infrastructure. ADVERTISEMENT Why Traditional Regulation Is Being Challenged by AI and Cloud The regulatory challenge is becoming more complex as previously separate technology sectors increasingly converge. AI, cloud computing, data centres, telecommunications, cybersecurity and digital services increasingly depend on the same underlying infrastructure and data ecosystems. Abdullahi argued that traditional vertical regulatory models, where each sector is governed largely within its own regulatory silo, are no longer sufficient to manage this convergence. NITDA is therefore adopting what he described as a horizontal regulatory framework—broad standards that can provide a common foundation upon which sector-specific regulators build their own rules. The model is intended to reduce duplication while maintaining the authority and specialised responsibilities of individual regulators. Nigeria's Sovereign Cloud Initiative Offers a Template Abdullahi pointed to Nigeria's National Sovereign Cloud Initiative as an example of how horizontal regulation can work in practice. He cited the Central Bank of Nigeria's use of NITDA's framework to issue a single circular for the financial sector. Under the approach, financial institutions could comply with applicable digital stability requirements without having to navigate separate approvals from multiple government agencies. For NITDA, the example demonstrates how regulatory coordination can preserve sector-specific oversight while reducing unnecessary administrative friction. The broader ambition is to make similar coordination possible across other areas of Nigeria's digital infrastructure ecosystem. From National Regulation to Cross-Border Digital Markets Abdullahi extended the argument beyond Nigeria, calling for greater alignment of digital standards across African markets. He said cross-border data flows and regional digital markets would benefit from common standards built around interoperability, trust and security. One area requiring greater coordination is data classification. Standardised classifications could distinguish between sovereign data that must remain within national borders and public or hybrid cloud assets that can be processed across different infrastructure environments. If African countries can recognise compatible compliance standards, businesses could potentially move data and digital services across borders without repeatedly navigating substantially different local procedures. Such interoperability could become increasingly important as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) drives efforts to create a more integrated continental digital economy. Regulation Should Build Markets, Not Simply Raise Revenue The NITDA chief also addressed a longstanding concern among technology businesses—that regulators may view digital companies primarily as sources of revenue. He said NITDA operates under a Regulatory Intelligence Framework designed to support business growth rather than extract revenue from the technology sector. According to Abdullahi, regulation should be viewed as a mechanism for shaping economic behaviour and creating the conditions for sustainable markets, rather than simply as a rigid collection of rules. He stressed that NITDA does not charge for its regulations, arguing that the agency's focus is on creating markets, developing local capacity and attracting long-term investment. The distinction is significant for digital infrastructure investors whose decisions are influenced not only by market size but also by the predictability, transparency and cost of the regulatory environment. Africa's Digital Infrastructure Investment Race The debate comes against the backdrop of rapidly expanding demand for Africa's digital infrastructure. Data centres, cloud computing, fibre networks, subsea cables and AI infrastructure are increasingly becoming foundational to the continent's digital economy. The ITW Africa x Datacloud Africa platform brings together stakeholders from across the digital infrastructure value chain, combining discussions around telecommunications, subsea connectivity and fibre with data centres, cloud, energy and the emerging compute economy. The 2026 event brought together more than 1,800 decision-makers from over 80 countries, with approximately 45 per cent of participants at director, vice-president or C-suite level. That audience places regulatory predictability firmly within the investment conversation. Regulators and Industry Converge on Digital Infrastructure The roundtable also brought together regulators, industry representatives and technology policy stakeholders to examine how regulation can better support infrastructure investment. Other panellists included Caroline Okafor, Legal Enforcement and Regulation, Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC); Tony Izuagbe Emoekpere, President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON); Mercy Ndegwa, Director, Public Policy, East & Horn of Africa and Economic Policy Lead, Africa, Meta; and Eng. Dennis Chepkwony, Director, Universal Service Fund, Communications Authority of Kenya. The diversity of the panel reflected the increasingly interconnected nature of digital infrastructure regulation, where telecommunications, data protection, cloud, connectivity and public policy increasingly overlap. The Bigger Shift: From Regulatory Silos to Co-Regulation NITDA's proposition ultimately points to a broader change in how governments may need to regulate the digital economy. As technology infrastructure becomes increasingly interconnected, businesses are less interested in navigating institutional boundaries than in understanding one coherent set of rules for deploying capital and operating legally. A coordinated regulatory interface could therefore become a competitive advantage for countries seeking to attract data centres, cloud providers, AI infrastructure developers and other digital investments. For Nigeria, the opportunity is particularly significant. The country has a large digital market and growing demand for connectivity and computing capacity. But converting that market into sustained infrastructure investment requires more than demand. It requires reliable power, connectivity, skills, capital and—critically—regulatory certainty. Abdullahi's 'one government, one interface' vision suggests that regulatory reform is increasingly being viewed not simply as an administrative exercise but as an essential component of Nigeria's digital infrastructure strategy. If successfully translated into practice, co-regulation could help Nigeria reduce regulatory friction, shorten approval cycles and give investors greater confidence that government can act with one voice as the country builds its next generation of digital infrastructure.