Says Use of Foreign technology must strengthen not replace local capacity
The Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro) has welcomed the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive requiring financial institutions and payment service providers to store and manage payment transaction data generated in Nigeria within the country, describing the policy as an important step towards strengthening Nigeria’s digital sovereignty and economic security.
The CBN circular, issued on June 15, 2026, sets January 1, 2027, as the deadline for full compliance. The Bank reaffirmed on October 9 that the deadline remains unchanged.
PeacePro Executive Director, Abdulrazaq Hamzat, said Nigeria must move beyond being a major consumer of foreign digital services and begin building the infrastructure, technical expertise and domestic industries needed to control and benefit from its growing digital economy.
“A country that generates critical financial data but depends on infrastructure outside its borders to store and manage that data must ask serious questions about its digital sovereignty. Nigeria cannot afford to remain merely a market for other countries’ technology while its own digital economy continues to expand.”
Hamzat said the policy could create opportunities for investment in Nigerian data centres, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, software development and specialised technical services, provided implementation is accompanied by deliberate policies to develop local capacity.
He stressed, however, that keeping data physically within Nigeria would not, by itself, guarantee digital sovereignty if critical infrastructure, intellectual property, technical expertise and strategic decision making remained excessively dependent on foreign providers.
“Data localisation must be more than a change of address for servers. It must become part of a national strategy to build Nigerian capacity, develop our technology workforce, strengthen local enterprises and retain more economic value within the country.”
PeacePro also urged the Federal Government and relevant regulators to ensure that Nigerian owned technology companies and qualified professionals have a fair opportunity to participate in the emerging market, rather than allowing the transition to become an exclusive commercial opportunity for a small number of established foreign technology providers.
PeacePro acknowledged concerns from banks and payment companies that migrating complex systems within the available timeframe could create operational and cybersecurity risks.
Hamzat said these concerns should be addressed through constructive engagement and clear technical standards, without abandoning the strategic objective of keeping Nigerian payment transaction data under appropriate domestic control.
Hamzat concluded that Nigeria’s digital sovereignty should be measured not only by where its data is stored, but also by its ability to secure that data, understand the systems managing it, develop domestic alternatives and ensure that Nigerians share meaningfully in the economic value created.
“Nigeria must own its digital future not necessarily by excluding foreign technology, but by ensuring that foreign participation strengthens rather than replaces our domestic capacity.”