Digital stability key to financial stability – NITDA DG
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Digital stability key to financial stability – NITDA DG
By Alabidun Shuaib AbdulRahman
The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, has said Nigeria’s financial stability can no longer be guaranteed through traditional regulatory approaches, urging regulators to adopt real-time supervision and stronger oversight of the digital ecosystem.
Inuwa stated this while speaking on “Digital Transformation, Supervision, Innovation and Operational Resilience” at the 15th Retreat of the Central Bank of Nigeria Committee of Departmental Directors in Lagos.
The retreat was themed, “From Reform to Institutionalisation: Strengthening the CBN Capacity to Deliver Sustainable Financial System Stability.”
The NITDA boss said the rapid transformation of banking from physical branches to mobile platforms, fintech ecosystems and embedded financial services had made conventional supervisory models inadequate.
He said modern financial services now depended on telecommunications infrastructure, cloud platforms, digital marketplaces, fintech companies, data systems and emerging technologies, requiring regulators to move beyond monitoring individual financial institutions.
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Inuwa said, “To achieve financial stability, we need digital stability. Without digital stability, today we cannot be talking about financial stability in the financial sector.”
He urged regulators to develop real-time visibility across the financial ecosystem instead of relying mainly on periodic returns submitted by regulated institutions.
“We need to be ahead of the institutions we regulate. We cannot wait for regulated institutions to submit returns before we analyse and understand what is happening. We need end-to-end visibility of the ecosystem,” he said.
The NITDA DG also called for a fundamental rethink of financial sector regulation, stressing that digital transformation should not be confused with digitalisation.
According to him, while digitalisation involves using technology to improve existing processes, digital transformation requires institutions to develop new value propositions, operating models and approaches to service delivery.
Inuwa urged financial institutions and regulators to embrace ecosystem-driven innovation capable of responding to the rapidly changing digital environment.
On operational resilience, he said financial institutions must look beyond conventional cybersecurity measures to address third-party and fourth-party risks, cloud governance, data protection, artificial intelligence oversight and the sustainability of digital infrastructure.
He identified growing dependence on external technology providers as a major emerging risk, warning that disruptions affecting cloud services, connectivity infrastructure and digital platforms could have widespread consequences for the financial system.
The NITDA boss also raised concerns over AI-driven cyber threats, saying artificial intelligence systems were increasingly becoming targets for sophisticated attacks.
He called on regulators and financial institutions to deploy AI for defence while simultaneously protecting AI-powered systems from manipulation and compromise.
Inuwa further stressed the need to develop local digital talent and institutional capacity to strengthen supervision and improve Nigeria’s long-term financial resilience.
He linked financial stability to digital sovereignty, arguing that Nigeria must retain meaningful control over the critical digital infrastructure supporting its economy.
“Financial stability now depends on resilient technology and Nigeria’s capacity for digital self-determination. If we do not build, control and maintain sovereignty over critical digital infrastructure, how can we guarantee the stability and integrity of our financial system?” he asked.
He said the future of financial supervision should focus not only on regulated institutions but also on the technologies, platforms, infrastructure and other stakeholders that collectively support modern financial services.
“The future of supervision is not merely to digitise regulation, but to digitally transform how regulators sense, understand and respond to risks across the ecosystem,” Inuwa stated.
Meanwhile, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Olayemi Cardoso, assured staff that the apex bank was in a strong position following its ongoing reforms.
Cardoso, who addressed participants virtually, said the transformation agenda of the CBN was designed to strengthen the institution while protecting the careers of its officers.
“The Bank is in a good place. Our staff have nothing to fear. Reform and institutionalisation are not a threat to the career officer; they are the protection of the career officer,” he said.
The governor said the success of reforms depended on their ability to become embedded in the institution’s culture, systems and processes beyond the tenure of those who initiated them.
He noted that the CBN had completed a bank-wide culture survey, which gave staff an opportunity to contribute to shaping the future of the institution.
Cardoso also outlined the bank’s recent international recognition, describing it as a reflection of the dedication and professionalism of its workforce.
He urged directors to empower their teams, promote constructive engagement and strengthen collaboration across departments.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Committee of Departmental Directors, Jimoh Musa Itoba, described directors as the “major anchors” of the CBN and custodians of its processes, culture and institutional memory.
Itoba urged the directors to take greater responsibility for driving financial stability and supporting economic growth, stressing that their leadership would be crucial to Nigeria’s ambition of building a $1tn economy.
“The directors are the major anchors of the Bank,” he said.
He urged participants to challenge existing practices and develop practical solutions that management could implement to strengthen financial system stability and public confidence.
In her welcome address, the Secretary of the Committee of Departmental Directors, Rashida Monguno, urged the directors to embrace innovation, strategic thinking and stronger collaboration in responding to emerging challenges.
Monguno said the rapidly changing operating environment required continuous performance reviews and bold solutions, adding that the retreat provided an opportunity for participants to identify institutional gaps and develop strategies for improving the CBN’s effectiveness and service delivery.
She expressed confidence that the engagement would produce recommendations capable of strengthening institutional performance and coordination across departments.
