Mr. Tunde Balogun, CEO of DSPL, in a statement today in Lagos, said both the creation of the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) to manage Nigeria’s burgeoning data protection industry and the appointment of Olatunji, a veteran public sector administrator, will help to positively accelerate required development of the nascent data sector.

“Government has initiated profound, practical steps to administer the steady growth of the data industry while the march towards legislation through an Act of Parliament is still progressively on course. This is highly commendable on the part of President Buhari and the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami.

“We expect operators and other stakeholders to critically look at how to leverage the new window for opportunities and collaborations,” said Balogun.

Earlier today, the ministry in statement released in the Abuja announced that, “the NDPB has been established in line with global best practice and will focus on data protection and privacy for the country, among others.

The statement further reads: “The successful implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a Digital Nigeria has significantly increased the adoption of data platforms and accelerated the datafication of our society. This has increased the importance of having an institution that focuses on data protection and privacy.

“Furthermore, the issuance of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) in January 2019, as a subsidiary legislation to the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Act 2007, has increased awareness about the need for data protection and privacy. The Bureau will be responsible for consolidating the gains of the NDPR and supporting the process for the development of a primary legislation for data protection and privacy.”

“President Buhari also approves the recommendation of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Pantami, for Dr. Vincent Olatunji to serve as the National Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer of the Bureau. Dr. Olatunji hails from Ekiti State and, at the time of his appointment, was the Director of the eGovernment Development and Regulations Department at NITDA. The appointment takes effect immediately.”

Olatunji hails from Ekiti State and, at the time of his appointment, was the Director of the e-Government Development and Regulations Department at National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). The department was responsible for NDPR related issues and the had oversight responsibilities over all DCPOs.

DSPL is one of  Nigeria’s top DPCOs with a firm grip in both public and private sectors. DSPL has provided NDPR compliant services and trainings for Oyo and Plateau governments.

In Plateau,, central Nigeria, it has helped to guide the Plateau State Internal Revenue Service (PSIRS) to meet the NDPR compliance requirements and has offered extensive training suites for about eight ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in Oyo state.

It currently has the intellectual proprietary right on the NDPR Compliant Visitors’ Book which was recently unveiled in Abuja by the NITDA.

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To this end, NITDA launched the NDPR compliant visitor’s book today in Abuja.

The launching of the NDPR compliant visitor’s booklet was performed by Kashifu Inuwa, the director general of NITDA, shortly after the agency’s first staff meeting of the year 2022 was concluded with all staff in attendance either physically or virtually, for those outside the headquarters on official assignments, zonal offices or on leave.

According to Inuwa; “NITDA is statutorily mandated by the NITDA Act of 2007 to, inter alia; develop regulations for electronic governance and monitor the use of electronic data interchange and other forms of electronic communication transactions as an alternative to paper-based methods in government, commerce, education, the private and public sectors, labour and other fields, where the use of electronic communication may improve the exchange of data and information.”

He said; “recognizing that many public and private bodies have migrated their respective businesses and other information systems online, information solutions in both the private and public sectors now drive service delivery in the country through digital systems. These information systems have thus become critical information infrastructure that must be safeguarded, regulated, and protected against atrocious breaches.”

“Data protection applies to all transactions intended for the processing of Personal Data, notwithstanding how the data processing is being conducted or intended to be conducted in respect of natural persons in Nigeria’’, the Director-General said during the unveiling.

He stated that organisations in Nigeria were caught scrambling to comply with the NDPR when it was launched in 2019.

“Most organisations especially Small and Medium Businesses (SMB) are finding it difficult to comply with some of the basic requirements of the regulation due to financial constraints,” he added.

NITDA Director-General disclosed that a recent study has revealed that many Nigeria public institutions and small business owners are still confused by the rules around data protection and privacy regulations.

“Disturbingly, out of 30 surveyed, 100% confirmed their paper visitors’ books are not confidential and do not protect the visitors’ personal data.

Another 98% admitted they do not dispose of paper visitor books securely and confidentially – leaving the personal data of millions of employees and customers at risk,’’ he added.

He categorically explained that when putting NDPR procedures in place, it’s very likely that many organisations did so with one big misconception that the new law only affects data collected online. The NDPR is technology-agnostic.

It applies to all acts of personal data collection and processing, no matter how and where it takes place, visitor data, employee personal data, etc.

Inuwa submitted that the Data Services Protection Limited (DSPL) patented visitor’s book was selected amongst the most innovative NDPR product at 2021 Privacy Week organised by NITDA.

The visitor’s book pages are duplicates and works by making personal data details on the visitor’s book invisible on the first page while capturing the data on the duplicate page.

This basic but ingenious NDPR complaint visitor’s book is cheap in comparison with the expensive digital visitor’s management solutions.

He, however, noted that the visitor’s book is an addition to the processes of computing the visitor’s data electronically.

Among the highlights of the staff meeting was the presentation of a plaque of recognition to the staff of the quarter Mr. Peter Chucks Emapo, a staff of the e-Government Training Center, Kubwa, Abuja, by the Director-General.

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