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COVER IMAGE: National Commissioner/CEO, NDPB, Dr. Vincent Olatunji
By Oluwaseun Ajayi
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Tuesday in Abuja, has charged the leadership of newly inaugurated Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB), by President Muhammadu Buhari, to stay focused on ensuring privacy rights.
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Pantami, who made the charge, while launching the NDPB logo, website, core value and think factory, said the country’s new data protection enforcer has the arduous tasks of consolidating the gains of the Nigerian Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), the country’s principal legislation, enforced before now by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
Also, Data Protection Compliance Organisations (DPCOs) under the aegis of the Licensed Data Protection Organisations of Nigeria (ALDAPCON) have expressed support for the new body even as they advised on the need for a whistle-blower policy to be implemented by the bureau.
ALDAPCON counselled on the need to create a window where whistle-blowers could report their organisations or other organisations data breaches.
Under the NDPR, DPCOs are licensed to conduct the audit and file the final reports of all public and private entities under lawful obligations to meet the NDPR compliance.
“NDPB has been mandated by the government to ensure the coordination of all the existing laws in which data protection, data privacy or data confidentiality has been mentioned,” the minister said during the ceremony in Abuja.
Some DPCOs with National Commissioner/CEO, NDPB, Dr. Vincent Olatunji
Mastercard to lend support
Pantami said Mastercard, a technology and global payments leader, has expressed to support Nigeria’s data protection journey. He said data protection regulations were vital to attracting international investors as data protection has become a major criterion to determine digitally compliant countries.
Pantami tasked the management of the NDPB to promote and protect data protection and privacy in Nigeria.
The NDPB was established last February by President Buhari who also appointed of Dr. Vincent Olatunji as the pioneer National Commissioner/CEO of the bureau.
While speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Olatunji assured stakeholders that the bureau will embark on aggressive awareness to ensure compliance to the NDPR.
The NDPB already has a Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan Committee of the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau to help guide its regulatory and enforcement roles. Designed to be a think factory, the committee consist of experts from the public and private sectors to help drive the roadmap for the bureau and Nigeria’s data protection industry.
The committee draws membership from DPCOs licensed under the NDPR to conduct the audit and file the final reports of all public and private entities in Nigeria.
