The Senate has taken a major step towards compelling global social media and technology companies operating in Nigeria to establish physical offices within the country, as Senator Ned Nwoko’s proposed legislation received broad support at a public hearing in Abuja.
The bill, sponsored by Nwoko, who represents Delta North Senatorial District, seeks to amend the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, to require social media companies operating in Nigeria to maintain physical offices within the country’s territorial boundaries.
The proposal, which has now progressed to the public hearing stage, is aimed at deepening the presence and accountability of global digital platforms in Nigeria while ensuring that the country derives greater economic, regulatory and technological benefits from its rapidly expanding digital market.
The latest development marks another stage in the legislative journey of the bill, which was introduced by Nwoko as part of efforts to address what he considers a gap in the relationship between Nigeria and the multinational technology companies that operate extensively within its digital space.
At the public hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Information and Communications Technology and Cyber Security, stakeholders backed the proposed legislation, alongside a separate bill seeking to establish an Artificial Intelligence Academy in Omuo-Ekiti, Ekiti State.
The hearing provided an opportunity for stakeholders to examine the implications of Nwoko’s proposal and its potential impact on technology companies, the Nigerian economy and the regulation of the country’s digital space.
Nwoko, in defending his bill, rejected concerns that the proposed requirement could discourage foreign investment or force technology companies to scale down their operations in Nigeria.
He maintained that the legislation was neither punitive nor hostile to innovation, arguing instead that it was designed to encourage global technology companies to establish a deeper and more meaningful relationship with Nigeria.
“This Bill is neither punitive nor hostile to innovation. It is not designed to frustrate investment or discourage technology companies from operating in Nigeria.
“On the contrary, it seeks to deepen their engagement with Nigeria by encouraging them to become true corporate citizens of our country,” he said.
The senator argued that Nigeria, as Africa’s largest digital market, should not continue to serve merely as a consumer market for global technology companies without benefiting sufficiently from their economic activities.
According to him, major technology companies have established headquarters, regional offices, engineering centres and operational hubs in several countries, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Spain, Singapore, India, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Brazil, Australia and Japan.
He said these local offices do more than provide a physical presence. They facilitate engineering and artificial intelligence research, legal and regulatory compliance, public policy engagement, advertising, trust and safety operations, cloud services, sales, customer support and product development.
Nwoko argued that these activities could generate significant economic benefits for Nigeria, including employment opportunities, increased tax revenues, technology transfer, innovation and stronger engagement between technology companies and Nigerian regulators.
“These countries did not attract such investments by accident. They recognised early that the digital economy is now as important as the traditional economy,” he said.
The senator pointed to Ireland as an example of how a country could benefit from the physical presence of global technology companies.
He cited the presence of firms including Meta, Google, LinkedIn, TikTok and X, arguing that their operations had contributed to the country’s emergence as a major technology hub through job creation, innovation and foreign investment.
For Nwoko, Nigeria’s much larger population and expanding digital economy provide an even stronger basis for demanding greater local participation by global technology companies.
“The question therefore is simple: if countries with significantly smaller populations and digital markets than Nigeria have secured these investments and benefits, why should Nigeria continue to stand on the sidelines? Why should Africa’s largest digital market not enjoy the same opportunities?” he asked.
The bill’s progress comes against the backdrop of the growing influence of social media platforms in Nigeria, where millions of citizens rely on digital services for communication, commerce, entertainment, advertising, news and political engagement.
The proposed amendment to the Nigeria Data Protection Act would, if passed and enacted, introduce a stronger requirement for global social media companies to maintain a physical presence in Nigeria, potentially making it easier for regulators and other relevant authorities to engage directly with the companies.
Opening the public hearing, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on ICT and Cyber Security, Shuaib Salisu, representing Ogun Central, said the bill was part of broader legislative efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy and technological development.
He said the proposed social media legislation was intended to improve regulation and protection of Nigeria’s cyberspace.
President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, represented at the hearing by the Deputy Senate Leader, Lola Ashiru, also backed the proposal, describing it as forward-looking and nationally significant.
Akpabio said the requirement for social media companies to establish physical offices in Nigeria should not be interpreted as an attempt to stifle their operations. Rather, he said, the objective was to promote greater accountability and engagement between the companies and the country.
The public hearing therefore represents a significant milestone in the legislative process for Nwoko’s bill. With stakeholders now invited to submit their memoranda and views, the Senate committee is expected to review the submissions before preparing its report and making further recommendations to the Senate.
The bill must still go through the remaining stages of the legislative process before it can become law. Its passage would ultimately depend on consideration and approval by both chambers of the National Assembly, followed by presidential assent.
For now, the public hearing has moved Nwoko’s proposal beyond the initial stage of legislative consideration and into a broader process of stakeholder scrutiny, bringing the debate over the physical presence and accountability of global social media companies in Nigeria into sharper focus.
