CBN Insists on Data Localisation, Says No Extension in January 2027 Deadline

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reiterated its insistence on data localisation, stating that the deadline for migrating all Nigerian data back to the country for local hosting on January 1, 2027, remains unaltered. During the "CloudReady Nigeria Financial Services Roundtable" organized by Africa Hyperscalers, CBN's Director, Payments Systems Supervision Department, Dr. Rakiya Opemi Yusuf, emphasized that the task is to ensure the proper implementation of the CBN directive for local data storage and management of payment transaction data.

This requires a complete data audit, from creation through processing and storage to eventual disposal, setting a full compliance date for January 1, 2027. National Commissioner and CEO of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr. Vincent Olatunji, stressed the importance of data sovereignty and the need to protect Nigeria's data hosted outside the country.

Olatunji highlighted that Africa accounts for less than one percent of global data centres located in the continent, which he deemed economically unstable, unsustainable, and strategically vulnerable. The Africa Hyperscalers' Executive Director, Mr. Temitope Osunrinde, acknowledged Nigeria's progress in strengthening digital sovereignty through various policies, but noted that the focus now is on implementing this vision successfully across the financial sector.

He highlighted the need for clear guidelines, appropriate data and workload classification, resilient infrastructure, trusted providers, and coordinated regulation to successfully host data in Nigeria.