The Federal Government’s “Nigeria First Policy” is facing fresh scrutiny after the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, FMCIDE, signed a $10 million deal with a foreign domain host- http://Hello.cv, a promoter of Cape Verde’s country code top-level domain .cv, to onboard 20,000 3 Million Technical Talent, 3MTT, fellows.
According to reports, it was approved by the Federal Executive Council on May 5, 2025 when the “Nigeria First Policy” mandates all Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, to prioritize locally produced goods and services in government procurement.
The policy aims to reduce import dependency, stimulate domestic industries, and boost job creation which is an economic initiative but stakeholders in ICT have expressed concern over the Digital Economy.
Under the agreement announced by the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, http://Hello.cv will provide each of the 20,000 fellows a $500 package comprising a personal .cv domain, an AI-powered job search agent, and professional CV writing assistance.
But, it was reported that ICT stakeholders have described the decision as an “obvious breach” of the Nigeria First Policy. They argue that mandating Nigerian trainees to use a foreign domain contravenes the policy and cedes Nigeria’s digital identity and data control to another country.
Dr. Adebunmi Adeola Akinbo, CEO of DNS Africa Media and Communications, stated: “Okay, the first thing we want to understand is this, the number of people that will be onboarded to the .cv ccTLD is huge. Does .cv ccTLD have the policy to protect the privacy of Nigerian’s data? Even if they have, is it proper, when we’re talking about a government that says, ‘Nigeria First’ as its priority? It is very improper, very, very improper.”
Stakeholders Question Hello.cv Role in 3MTT Programme
Collectively, stakeholders insist the Nigeria Internet Registration Association, NiRA, the official registry for the .ng domain, has the capacity to host the 3MTT fellows. Dr. Akinbo proposed that http://Hello.cv could operate as a secondary host, such as http://hello.cv.ng, while keeping primary data and identity on .ng.
“Proposition that, and we can onboard three million Nigerians or five million Nigerians to the .ng domain,” Akinbo added, noting that the .ng domain can easily accommodate a large number of users and offers entrepreneurial opportunities for Nigerians to grow on.
Ugonma Egwuatu of ECAM Global Services, an ICT and Data Protection firm, further raised data security concerns: “We are talking about 200,000 data sources that visit the sites. What is the reason behind the use of foreign domain as against the .ng that we know about? Are they trying to phish data? Are they trying to sell data? These are questions that need to be asked to know the reason why the ministry insists on the trainees using a foreign domain.”
She also said the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, NDPC, should be drawn into the issue since “the security of people’s data is involved.” adding that it’s only by using .ng as requirement for it’s Data Protection Compliance Organisations (DPCOs) that influence to control how and where the data is used becomes visible.
NiRA’s Chief Operating Officer, Mrs. Oluwaseyi Onasanya stated that the association fully supports the 3MTT programme and the Ministry’s effort to empower young Nigerians. “NiRA fully supports the Federal Government’s vision for digital skills development through the 3MTT programme and commend the Ministry’s effort in creating opportunities for young Nigerians. Our position is that the objectives of the partnership can be achieved while also advancing the spirit of the Nigeria First policy through greater utilisation of the .ng domain ecosystem and other infrastructure,” the COO said.
However, Emmanuel Amos, CEO of Programos and Innovation/AI Academy, noted that the agreement could still be amended since details only became public last month. “There’s room for amendments, there’s room to make the change, and ensure Nigeria retains its digital value,” he said.
Additionally Pundits warn that using a foreign ccTLD for a government-backed digital skills programme undermines the backend control and cybersecurity objectives of the Nigeria First Policy. They argue that providing a domain name, which is a country’s identity on the internet, should not be outsourced when Nigeria has NiRA, the custodian of .ng ccTLD.
As of press time, FMCIDE had not issued a formal response to the stakeholders’ demands for a third-party agreement or a switch to .ng as the primary domain.
Meanwhile, the ministry earlier stated that all provisions of the partnership had been agreed except for the domain hosting aspect.
This development adds to ongoing concerns about stability in execution and compliance by MDAs responsible for driving the goals of the Nigeria First Policy.
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