NiRA to Discuss Digital Independence, Internet Security at Tech Convergence 3.0 Forum

The Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), custodian of Nigeria’s national internet address space, has announced the third edition of its flagship forum, Tech Convergence 3.0, scheduled to take place on June 2, 2026, at the Abuja Continental Hotel, Abuja.

The one-day, high-impact convening will bring together Nigeria’s most senior policymakers, technology innovators, cybersecurity practitioners, legal experts, investors, and civil society leaders to chart a bold course for the country’s digital sovereignty and economic independence.

Themed: ‘Strengthening Nigeria’s Digital Independence: The Role of Policy, Digital Identity & .ng for Economic Growth’, Tech Convergence 3.0 arrives at a defining moment for Nigeria’s digital economy. As one of Africa’s fastest-growing technology markets, Nigeria possesses the talent, scale, and policy momentum to assert genuine leadership in the global digital economy yet continues to grapple with entrenched structural challenges that risk undermining that potential.

It is widely estimated that over 90% of African internet traffic, including data generated in and about Nigeria, is currently routed through servers located outside the continent, a reality that raises urgent questions about data sovereignty, economic value leakage, and national security. Tech Convergence 3.0 will confront these questions head-on, moving the conversation from diagnosis to action.
The forum will examine the critical intersection of forward-looking digital policy, trusted digital identity infrastructure, and the strategic case for significantly expanding adoption of the .ng country code top-level domain (ccTLD), Nigeria’s national digital address space, managed by NiRA.

Giving details of the forum, President of NiRA, Mr. Adesola Akinsanya, said: “Tech Convergence 3.0 is the most consequential edition of this forum to date. Nigeria is at an inflection point in its digital journey, and the decisions we make now, on policy, infrastructure, identity, and internet security, will define our digital economy for the next generation. NiRA is proud to convene this national conversation, and we are committed to ensuring that its outcomes translate into real, measurable change.”

The Tech Convergence 3.0 programme has been carefully designed to deliver both intellectual rigour and practical outcomes. The day will open with formal welcome and goodwill addresses from senior government officials and strategic partners, followed by a keynote from a distinguished national or international thought leader.

Four substantive sessions will follow, each targeting a distinct dimension of Nigeria’s digital sovereignty agenda.

Panel Session 1: From Policy to Prosperity: Unlocking Nigeria’s Digital Economy Through Identity, Infrastructure, and .ng — A high-level examination of the policy, regulatory, and identity levers required to realise Nigeria’s full digital economic potential, featuring senior policymakers, regulators, and industry leaders.

Presentation 1: Are We Building Nigeria’s Internet or Renting It? — An evidence-based, data-driven analysis of Nigeria’s digital dependency, quantifying the economic cost of reliance on foreign infrastructure and presenting a roadmap for localisation.

Panel Session 2: DNSSEC as a Critical National Trust Infrastructure — A technically grounded discussion on the urgency of deploying DNS Security Extensions across Nigeria’s finance, telecoms, and government sectors to safeguard citizens and institutions from DNS-based cyber threats.

Presentation 2: The 90 per cent Offshore Data Risk: Myth, Threat, or Opportunity? — A nuanced examination of Nigeria’s data localisation challenge, exploring both the genuine security and economic risks and the maturing domestic infrastructure ecosystem that can address them.

Chairman, Tech Convergence Committee & Executive Director, NiRA, Mr. Seun Kehinde, said: “The design of this year’s programme reflects the maturity of the Tech Convergence platform. We are not here to repeat the same conversations. Every session has been built around a specific, actionable outcome, whether that is a policy recommendation, a DNSSEC deployment roadmap, or a new partnership agreement. The bar is high, and our speakers are more than equal to it.”