By Juliet Umeh

Stakeholders in Nigeria’s Information and Communications Technology, ICT, sector has expressed concerns over aspects of the recent partnership between the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, FMCIDE, and Hello.cv.

They argue that the arrangement contradicts the Federal Government’s Nigeria First Policy by promoting Cape Verde’s country code top-level domain, ccTLD, .cv, instead of Nigeria’s indigenous .ng domain.
The controversy follows the announcement by the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, of a $10 million partnership with Hello.cv under the 3 Million Technical Talent, 3MTT, programme.

Under the agreement, 20,000 3MTT fellows will receive access to Hello.cv’s profile package, which includes a personal .cv domain, an AI-powered job search agent, and a professional CV writer.

While stakeholders welcomed the training opportunities embedded in the initiative, they questioned the decision to onboard beneficiaries onto Cape Verde’s .cv domain instead of Nigeria’s .ng domain, arguing that it contradicts the spirit of the Nigeria First Policy approved by the Federal Executive Council in May 2025.

Chief Executive Officer of DNS Africa Media and Communications, Dr. Adebunmi Adeola Akinbo, described the arrangement as inconsistent with government efforts to prioritise local digital assets and safeguard national data.

“The .ng domain can comfortably accommodate millions of users. If branding is important to Hello.cv, the company can adopt a .ng-based structure while still retaining its identity,” he said.

Akinbo further warned that hosting large volumes of Nigerian user data on a foreign domain raises questions about data governance, sovereignty, and compliance with national cybersecurity objectives.

Similarly, Chief Executive Officer of Programos and Innovationbed-AI Academy, Emmanuel Amos, said the development highlights concerns about policy consistency within government institutions.

According to him, Nigeria risks weakening confidence in its own technology ecosystem when agencies fail to align their actions with policies designed to strengthen local capacity.

Also speaking, Ugonma Egwuatu of ECAM Global Services urged the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, NDPCm to examine the data protection implications of the arrangement.

“We are talking about 20,000 data subjects. Questions must be asked about how the data will be managed, stored and protected,” she said.

Stakeholders urged the ministry to review the agreement and explore ways of integrating the .ng domain to ensure Nigeria retains its digital identity and value.