Making Nigeria’s Cloud Market Contestable: Competition Policy Lessons From The UK Experience

Introduction

On 17 August 2026, the Federal Government of Nigeria announced the issuance of the National Digital Cloud Policy (the “Policy”) as a comprehensive strategic framework for accelerating the development, governance and internationalisation of Nigeria’s cloud computing and digital infrastructure ecosystem. The Policy supersedes the 2019 Nigeria Cloud Computing Policy and seeks to address longstanding structural constraints, including fragmented public procurement, infrastructure deficits, high operational costs and limited access to reliable energy. One of the Policy’s objectives is to build a competitive, multi-provider market. In this regard, the Policy seeks to ensure the maintenance of an open and contestable market in which domestic and international cloud providers compete on transparent terms, and in which customers, including government, retain genuine choice, data portability and the practical ability to switch providers without prohibitive cost.