Participants at the NiTDA National Data Sovereignty Initiative pose for a group photograph

… As Okonkwo Expresses Support towards Securing Indigenous Infrastructure Framework 

AWC TECHNOLOGY DESK, August, 2026

High Chief Dr. Sylvester Okonkwo, Executive Director, Corporate Services, South East Development Commission, joins national stakeholders in Abuja as NiTDA unveils landmark framework to secure Nigeria’s digital future

ABUJA — Experts and other stakeholders in the Tech ecosystem have reaffirmed commitment to Nigeria’s emerging digital transformation agenda with their participation at the unveiling and adoption of the National Digital Infrastructure Assurance Framework (NDIAF) 2026 by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NiTDA).

Among participants in the event is High Chief Dr. Sylvester Okonkwo, Executive Director, Corporate Services, of the South East Development Commission (SEDC), who had played huge developmental roles at various stages of the evolution of different areas of technology in Nigeria.

The high-level national event, which held in Abuja on 4 August 2026, brought together key stakeholders from government, technology institutions, infrastructure providers, regulatory bodies, and the digital ecosystem to advance Nigeria’s ambition of achieving greater control, security, and resilience over its digital infrastructure.

The NDIAF, published by NITDA, establishes a comprehensive national assurance mechanism for trusted cloud services, data centres, digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence infrastructure, sovereign computing environments, and related digital services.

Okonkwo’s, who was invited to participate at the strategic gathering, saw the forum as another opportunity to contribute to indigenous digital infrastructure framework towards achieving data sovereignty and digital repository independence for Nigeria.

Always driven by nationalistic spirit and patriotism, High Chief Dr. Okonkwo always demonstrates passion to support his Commission to drive President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s renewed hope vision for regional development initiatives.

The NiTDA event was therefore another opportunity for him to contribute to national policies that promote technology-driven growth, secure digital systems, and innovation-led economic advancement.

The framework, according to NiTDA, introduces a structured and risk-based certification regime aimed at ensuring that digital infrastructure providers meet required standards before supporting government services and critical digital systems.

Under the new framework, providers of cloud services, data centres, managed services, sovereign compute facilities, artificial intelligence infrastructure, and other digital infrastructure solutions will be subjected to registration, assessment, certification, and continuous compliance monitoring.

The initiative represents a major step towards strengthening Nigeria’s digital sovereignty by ensuring that critical government workloads, sensitive data, and strategic digital assets operate within trusted, secure, and accountable environments.

A major component of the framework is the establishment of the Digital Infrastructure Assurance Certification (DIAC) scheme, which provides recognised pathways for assessing the readiness, resilience, security, and operational capability of digital infrastructure providers.

The NDIAF provides certification categories including Operational Compliance Certificate (OCC), Government-Ready Certification (GRC), and Sovereign Infrastructure Certification (SIC), with the highest certification level designed for infrastructure capable of hosting sensitive, critical, and strategic government workloads.

The framework also reinforces data sovereignty requirements by mandating that providers seeking government-level certification demonstrate compliance with data residency, security, operational control, auditability, and jurisdictional requirements.

For Okonkwo, participation in the national initiative underscores the importance of integrating digital infrastructure into regional development planning, particularly in areas such as smart governance, innovation ecosystems, industrial advancement, youth empowerment, and technology-enabled economic opportunities.

It is expected that the SEDC, other regional organs and sub nationals will quickly start keying into this strategic approach towards partnerships that connect national digital policies with regional development priorities.

The NDIAF is expected to provide a stronger foundation for collaboration between government institutions, technology providers, and development agencies by promoting trusted digital infrastructure capable of supporting Nigeria’s expanding digital economy.

NiTDA, as the owner and custodian of the framework, is mandated to administer the certification scheme, maintain the register of certified providers and accredited auditors, oversee compliance assessments, and facilitate the onboarding of qualified providers onto the National Digital Marketplace.

With the launch of the National Digital Infrastructure Assurance Framework, Nigeria has taken another decisive step towards building a secure, resilient, and sovereign digital ecosystem, a development that positions technology as a critical pillar of national development and regional transformation.

#DigitalSovereignty #NITDA #SEDC #NigeriaDigitalFuture #TechnologyForDevelopment