Fifteen of 44 financial institutions surveyed by Nigeria's National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) say they are unlikely or very unlikely to meet the country's data localisation requirements by the January 1, 2027 deadline, according to a new agency survey. Three other institutions, not named, could not assess their own readiness.

Requirements of this kind call on regulated firms to keep specified data stored and managed in Nigeria, and — as the survey's own categories show — they reach into hosting and administration arrangements, board-level budgets, local vendor contracts and migration work.

The findings were presented in Lagos by Dr Muhammad Aminu Lawal, special assistant on digital transformation to NITDA Director-General Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, at an Executive Regulatory Dialogue convened by NITDA and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The forum brought together regulators, banks, fintech operators and technology service providers.

Who is on track, and who is not

The 15 institutions at risk of missing the deadline account for 34% of respondents. By contrast, 26 institutions, or 59%, had completed the required actions or are expected to do so before the deadline. The report also showed that 22 of the 44 institutions had not started implementation at all as at the time of the survey.

NITDA cautioned that the responses were self-reported, anonymised and aggregated, and stressed that the exercise was not a formal compliance assessment — which makes the figures a readiness snapshot rather than an official compliance record.

Where the delays are

The report indicates that many institutions have laid the groundwork on data localisation but have not moved beyond it. While 70% had identified the data or systems covered by the requirements, and 52% had mapped their hosting and administration arrangements, far fewer had shifted to execution: only 25% had secured board or executive approval and a budget, 23% had contracted local providers, and 18% had begun migration or remediation.

Read together, the figures trace a funnel: assessment-stage steps are largely done, while execution-stage steps — budget approval, contracting and migration — are where the pipeline thins.

"Mapping is done; budgets, contracts and migration lag," Lawal said.

What institutions want clarified

Unclear rules emerged as the biggest factor slowing progress. The survey found that 64% of institutions want a definition of "payment transaction data", while 38% are still seeking clarity on what it means for data to be "stored and managed in Nigeria".

Twenty-nine institutions said they could not proceed fully without further clarification. Half were working on assumptions in the meantime, and 16% said material work had been put on hold.

The presentation named a written clarification on the scope of the requirements as a priority. It also called for clearer transition milestones, an exceptions process and guidance on existing contracts — the items that now stand out as markers to watch as the sector works toward the January 1, 2027 deadline.

Compliance, it said, was "within reach for about six in 10, not yet for the rest".