The Central Bank of Nigeria's directive requiring banks, payment service providers, and fintech companies to store all payment transaction data generated within Nigeria on local servers is emerging as a major catalyst for the country's digital infrastructure sector.
Data centre operators say the policy, which takes effect on January 1, 2027, could unlock significant investment, strengthen data sovereignty, and reduce Nigeria's dependence on foreign infrastructure. While some stakeholders have raised concerns about implementation costs and infrastructure readiness, operators of the country's largest data centres argue that capacity concerns are overstated.
**Ikechukwu Nnamani**, Chief Executive Officer of Digital Realty Nigeria, described the directive as a positive development for both the data centre industry and the wider economy. He said localising banking and financial services data will stimulate demand for data centre services, encourage the expansion of existing facilities, and attract investment into new infrastructure projects.
"This is a positive development not only for the data centre industry but for the digital economy of Nigeria," Nnamani said. He noted that increased demand for data hosting capacity would create jobs during both the construction and operational phases of new facilities, while also improving service quality through lower latency.
According to Nnamani, local hosting would significantly reduce the volume of foreign exchange currently spent on overseas cloud and data hosting services. Many Nigerian financial institutions rely on servers and cloud infrastructure located in Europe, North America, and other international markets, resulting in recurring foreign currency payments.
"With localisation of data and services within Nigeria-based data centres, payments will be made in local currency, thereby reducing pressure on the naira," he said.
**Dr. Ayotunde Coker**, Chief Executive Officer of Open Access Data Centres (OADC), noted that Nigeria has already established itself as a regional digital infrastructure hub, delivering infrastructure at globally competitive standards. He added that Lagos has increasingly emerged as West Africa's digital infrastructure hub, attracting significant investment into large-scale facilities.
