By Dwelleth Morountodun
President Muhammadu Buhari, has approved the appointment of Dr. Vincent Olatunji, as the pioneer Commissioner of the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB).
Recall that Olatunji, acted as the Director General (DG) of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), at the expiration of Dr. Peter Jack’s first term tenure as DG in 2016.
He piloted the affairs of NITDA briefly until the current Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Ibrahim Pantami, was appointed as substantive DG.
Mrs. Uwa Suleiman, Spokesperson to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, in a statement made available to the media on Friday, said the approval of the bureau and appointment of Olatunji as pioneer helmsman followed the request made by the Minister.
She said: “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 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.”
According to her, the issuance of the 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 as over 1213 Nigerian companies and establishments are said to have complied with the regulation in a recent release validated by Mrs. Hadiza Umar, NITDA’S Head of Communications and Public Affairs: https://nitda.gov.ng/official-ndpr-audit-list-2021/
The Bureau, she explained 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.
Olatunji hails from Ekiti State and, at the time of his appointment, was the Director of the e-Government Development and Regulations Department at NITDA. The appointment takes effect immediately, Suleiman, added.
