The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, has urged Nigerians citizens and organisations to patronise indigenous digital solutions to promote economic growth and data sovereignty.
Oyedele made the call during a courtesy visit to Galaxy Backbone Ltd. (GBB) on Monday in Abuja.
He called on Nigerians to support the Federal Government’s “Buy Nigeria, Make Nigeria” initiative by patronising locally developed software, hardware and other digital infrastructure.
He said greater patronage of indigenous technology would contribute to data sovereignty and strengthen Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global digital economy.
According to him, some Nigerian organisations that patronise locally made technology have found it to be more affordable while maintaining better quality.
The minister said Nigeria had little excuse not to maximise opportunities offered by the digital economy, stressing the need for the country to be intentional in developing the sector.
He said the digital economy remained a priority area of government’s economic growth agenda, requiring deliberate investment in infrastructure, innovation and local technology.
He assured the GBB of the government’s support to strengthen digital infrastructure.
“Many organisations, particularly in the private sector, still rely heavily on foreign suppliers, despite the availability of capable Nigerian technology providers.
“Digital infrastructure is critical. As a country, we must be intentional in making that investment,” he said.
Oyedele described the work of GBB as a national duty and assured the organisation of the support if the ministry of finance to make its operations more impactful and sustainable.
Earlier, the Managing Director of GBB, Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju, said sustained investment was needed to expand GBB’s fibre network, data centres and cybersecurity capabilities as demand for digital services continued to grow.
Adeyanju appealed for increased investment, private-sector partnerships and appropriate policy support to enable GBB connect more institutions, strengthen digital infrastructure, reduce duplication and improve public service delivery.
He said every Naira invested in digital infrastructure was an investment in productivity, innovation, economic growth and national development, assuring that GBB remained committed to delivering greater value to Nigeria and Nigerians.
He described the organisation as a critical component of Nigeria’s digital infrastructure ecosystem.
Adeyanju said GBB had more than 5,000 kilometres of fibre infrastructure, data centres, cybersecurity capabilities, government email and other shared digital platforms supporting government ministries, departments and agencies.
He said the organisation operated both Uptime Institute-certified Tier III and Tier IV data centres and maintained international standards, including ISO 9001, ISO 27001, ISO 22301 and ISO 20000.
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