The federal government has said it plans more innovative investment in data protection, stressing that it will digitise all administrative procedures in order to exploit the potential in the digital economy to boost the nation’s economy.
Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy Bosun Tijani said this during a news conference to commemorate 2024 Global Data Privacy Day, with the theme “Take Control of your data”. The event was organised by the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC) led by its National Commissioner Dr. Vincent Olatunji, in Abuja on Sunday.
The purpose of the occasion, which is observed in Nigeria from January 28 to February 4, is to unite people worldwide in raising awareness of data subjects’ rights and data protection in compliance with existing regulations.
The minister who said the government and its agencies will lead the way to protect data, said, “A lot of gadgets we use today are interconnected which means the data we are producing daily must be protected and the people producing it need to be enlightened.”
He noted that President Bola Tinubu has given the Ministry the mandate to transform public services with technology, saying “a lot more of the things we do in public service will be digitised.
A lot of the services that citizens consume in the coming months and years will also be digitised.”
The minister however warned that there might be dangers as people collect and share data, stressing the need for government agencies to protect the data appropriately.
He pointed out that the NDPC will be able to fulfil that function, and Galaxy BackBone will assist in overseeing the data exchange system and making sure it complies with established guidelines.
The minister added that manufacturers of digital devices must make sure that the personal information they gather is secure.
He decried the knowledge gap about data protection, adding that the week would be centred on enlightenment.
He said, “The knowledge is lacking because there is no capacity, and it is a new way of doing things and we need to consider behavioural change.’’
The NDPC National Commissioner, Dr Vincent Olatunji, in his remarks stated that the commission generated over N400 million through data protection compliance and its remedial actions, adding that it created a five-year Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan with five pillars.
The Commission, according to Olatunji, has accomplished two of the three most difficult goals on the road map in less than a year, apart from the awareness component, which calls for significant capacity building.
According to him, “The commission is eager to create a pool of Data Protection Officers (DPOs) that are competitive on a global scale and capable of carrying out the responsibilities assigned to them under Section 332 of the Nigeria Data Protection Act.”
He disclosed that at least 500,000 data controllers and processors have been identified, and for them to fulfil their legal obligations, they require certified DPOs.
“We cannot afford to subject this pool to mandatory foreign certifications, as this will devalue our native currency and undermine the goals outlined in Executive Orders 003 and 005 of the Federal Government. To close the gap, we have finalised plans for the licensing of an indigenous certification authority with an international scope and global standards,” he said.
Data Privacy Day is presently commemorated in the US, Canada, Israel, Nigeria, Qatar, and 47 European nations. It was started to promote privacy and best practices for data protection.
Chairman of the House of Representatives committee on ICT and cybersecurity, Stanley Adedeji, told reporters that the National Assembly would make sure that its method of data collection complies with the existing laws.
“In performing our constitutional duties as legislators, we collect a lot of data. We must make sure the mode in which we collect data complies with the Data Privacy law. This means that we must automate the process of our interaction with MDAs and other organisations,’’ he said.
Mr Adedeji also urged all institutions to be involved in the data protection ecosystem, which is currently in its early stages of development.
