The newly established Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has set out to upskill 500,000 Nigerians who would assume the roles of Data Processing Officers in both public and private sectors.
Dr. Vincent Olatunji, the National Commissioner for NDPC gave the hint during an interactive session with the media.
While speaking on the Commission’s plans, Dr. Olatunji said that the NDPC targets to have 500,000 Data Processing Officers (DPOs) to work in offices across Nigeria.
“We are going to work with the Data Processing and Compliance Offices (DPCOs) and national certification bodies to ensure that only certified individuals are recruited and trained.”
He also noted that 160 data compliance monitoring organisations (DCMOs) have been licensed. They are to issue certifications based on a predetermined curriculum and training format.
While acknowledging that the data protection ecosystem is still in its emerging state in Nigeria, Dr. Olatunji said the campaign by NDPC will be to ensure that data controllers and processors know their obligations, while data consumers should know their rights.
He further noted that the Commission will embark on capacity building, an ecosystem that will create jobs and be globally competitive.
“There is shortage of Data Processing Officers. Measures are already in place to get them.”
Dr. Olatunji also assured that every section of the data protection law will be broken down to address specific needs in data security and protection to the understanding of every Nigerian, even those at the grassroots, using its collaboration with the National Orientation Agency (NOA) as leverage.
He expressed satisfaction in the level of growth in compliance by both the government and private establishments, which stood at 9% for public sector organisations, and 49% for the private sector, as at February, just one year after the establishment of the Board. He however noted that the federal government has directed all MDAs to comply with the NDPR.
While stating that the NDPC is more interested in compliance than in penalizing non-compliant organisations, Dr. Olatunji noted that now that the Board has been turned to a Commission, the growth level will increase.
“What is really important to us is compliance, not the fines. We want to create the culture of data security, and responsible use of public and private data. So even when you pay the fines, we still monitor you for the next six months to know if you are maintaining it.”
