Lagos played host to a pivotal gathering of cybersecurity stakeholders yesterday, marking the second major step toward the creation of a national council designed to shield Nigeria’s digital economy from escalating threats. The meeting, held at Four Points by Sheraton in Victoria Island, brought together voices from government, academia, industry, and the broader tech ecosystem to shape the proposed Nigerian Ministerial Advisory Council for Cybersecurity Coordination, or NG-MACC.
The initiative, spearheaded by Minister of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy Bosun Tijani, aims to forge a unified front against cyber risks that have become a near-constant menace. At the inaugural session in Abuja, Tijani outlined a vision for a coordinated national cyber resilience framework built on accountability, intelligence sharing, policy alignment, and cross-sector collaboration. But in Lagos, stakeholders pressed for clarity on how information-sharing mechanisms would work and how the government plans to counter emerging threats from technologies like quantum computing and artificial intelligence.
Representing the minister, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, painted a stark picture. “What we have experienced in the last three months at the NDPC is as if there is now a deliberate plan to attack government infrastructure,” he said, noting that a cyberattack strikes Nigeria every 39 seconds. He stressed that the government cannot tackle the challenge alone, calling for stronger public-private partnerships to build national resilience.
A presentation on behalf of the minister outlined the proposed structure of the council, which would include a 21-member Executive Council chaired by Tijani, with a private-sector co-chair and the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency serving as secretary. President Bola Tinubu would sit at the apex of the governance structure, with the minister reporting directly to him. Immediate priorities include developing a national cyber resilience framework, enhancing threat intelligence sharing, tackling online harms and cybercrime, and protecting critical infrastructure.
The next phase kicks off with a 90-day roadmap from June to September 2026, involving the nomination, confirmation, and inauguration of council members, along with the creation of the council’s first work plan. As Tijani emphasized, the stakes could not be higher: as Nigeria accelerates its digital transformation, collective action is no longer optional—it is essential to safeguarding the nation’s digital future.
