The Federal Government says it is targeting 750 million dollars in private sector investment in Nigeria’s cloud and data infrastructure within the next 24 months.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, disclosed this on Monday at the GITEX 2026 Government Leadership and AI Summit in Abuja.
Akume, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Political and Economic Affairs Office, Bekearedebo Warrens, said the investment target was part of the newly unveiled National Digital Cloud Policy.
He said the policy was designed to position Nigeria as a competitive destination for cloud and data services in West Africa and Africa.
“The newly unveiled National Digital Cloud Policy targets an ambitious 750 million dollars in private investment in Nigeria’s cloud and data infrastructure within 24 months,” Akume said.
He said the government would also commence the rollout of a 90,000-kilometre fibre optic network to cover all states, local government areas and wards across the country.
According to him, the project will be complemented by the deployment of about 3,700 telecommunications towers to connect more than 20 million Nigerians in underserved communities.
Akume said the initiatives were aimed at moving Nigeria from a technology-consuming country to a producer and exporter of digital solutions and artificial intelligence.
He also highlighted the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme and recent legal reforms as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s digital ecosystem.
The SGF said 3MTT had recorded 1.87 million registrations across the 774 local government areas, with more than 125,000 Nigerians trained in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and software engineering.
He added that President Bola Tinubu’s assent to the NIMC Act 2026 had strengthened the legal framework for identity management and data sovereignty.
Akume reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to supporting Galaxy Backbone Ltd. as the operational agency responsible for federal telecommunications infrastructure and protection of national digital assets.
He called on investors, innovators and private sector stakeholders at GITEX 2026 to develop partnerships that would enable Africa to benefit from the projected one-trillion-dollar AI-driven market by 2035.
Also speaking, the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Abdullahi, said Nigeria needed to achieve sovereign control over its artificial intelligence ecosystem.
Abdullahi described AI as strategic national infrastructure and cautioned against excessive reliance on systems developed outside the country.
“To me, AI is not just another piece of technology. It is a strategic infrastructure that can help nations accelerate growth,” he said.
He said Nigeria needed to develop and train AI systems with local data to ensure that they effectively addressed the country’s needs.
“We cannot rely on AI built in other jurisdictions; we need to own our own AI,” Abdullahi said.
