The Federal Government has placed an immediate hold on the rollout of new digital regulations covering internet platforms, online intermediaries, and cross-cutting digital economy matters, pending the completion of a harmonized national policy framework.
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy Bosun Tijani issued the directive after a strategic meeting with the leadership of three federal agencies, the Nigerian Communications Commission, the National Information Technology Development Agency, and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission.
Digital Regulations Suspended as Inter-Agency Harmonisation Begins
Tijani said the three agencies must defer enforcement of any recently issued regulation, code, guideline, framework, or administrative requirement that touches on internet platforms or online intermediaries where those provisions fall within the scope of ongoing inter-agency harmonization.
“The existing regulatory status quo shall be maintained with respect to matters relating to internet platforms, online intermediaries, and other cross-cutting digital economy issues currently undergoing inter-agency policy harmonization under the ministry’s coordination,” Tijani said in a statement released Tuesday.
He was clear that the suspension does not strip the agencies of their existing statutory powers. All provisions that fall within the clear legal mandates of each agency under existing law remain in force, as long as they are consistent with the policy direction from the ministry.
The directive signals growing concern within government that Nigeria’s digital economy has expanded faster than the regulatory architecture designed to oversee it.
“The convergence of telecommunications, digital platforms, artificial intelligence, online safety, and data governance requires a coordinated whole-of-government approach to policy development and implementation,” Tijani said.
New Joint Technical Committee to Drive Policy Harmonisation
As part of the suspension order, Tijani announced the formation of a joint technical coordination committee made up of representatives from the NCC, NITDA, and the NDPC. The committee’s remit is to coordinate stakeholder consultations and produce recommendations for a unified national policy and governance framework.
The ministry said the framework, once completed, will draw clear lines between the responsibilities of each agency, cut down on regulatory overlap, and reduce compliance uncertainty for businesses operating in Nigeria’s digital space.
Tijani framed the move as essential to investor confidence, saying regulatory coordination protects legal certainty and supports Nigeria’s long-term ambition of becoming Africa’s leading digital economy.
“Regulatory coordination is not only essential to preserving legal certainty but is also fundamental to promoting investment, innovation, consumer confidence, and Nigeria’s long-term competitiveness as Africa’s leading digital economy,” he said.
The ministry stressed that the harmonization exercise is not a move to reduce the statutory authority of any individual agency but to ensure those agencies work together more effectively where their mandates intersect.
Tinubu’s Tech Crackdown Provides Backdrop to Tijani’s Move
The timing of the directive is significant. It comes less than 24 hours after President Bola Tinubu directed the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to investigate major technology companies and generative artificial intelligence platforms over claims of anti-competitive behavior and the alleged exploitation of Nigerian media content.
That directive put a spotlight on gaps in Nigeria’s digital governance architecture and raised questions about which agency holds authority over which category of digital business activity.
The back-to-back announcements point to a broader government effort to get ahead of regulatory confusion before it hardens into disputes that could delay investment or generate litigation.
Details of a timeline for completing the harmonization framework were not immediately available. The ministry did not specify how long the suspension would remain in place or when the joint technical committee would deliver its first recommendations.
The NCC, NITDA, and NDPC have not issued separate public statements since the directive was announced. It was not immediately clear whether the three agencies had published internal notices to regulated entities regarding the suspension of specific instruments.
The freeze on new digital regulations affects operators across a wide range of sectors, including platform companies, data processors, internet service providers, and artificial intelligence developers active in the Nigerian market.
Industry groups and civil society organizations focused on digital rights had raised concerns in recent months about the pace and coordination of regulation in the sector. The ministry did not reference those concerns directly in its statement.
