The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) on Thursday organised a sensitization workshop on Data Privacy and Protection for Data Processors and Controllers.
The National Commissioner, NDPC, Dr Vincent Olatunji, said on the sideline of the workshop that the workshop was meant to create awareness of the NDPC Act.
Olatunji said that on the part of data controllers and processors, the workshop was to sensitize them on care and accountability to ensure that data collected is protected and secured.
He said that the workshop would create awareness for data processors and controllers on the need to build confidence and trust in the Nigerian system.
According to him, building confidence and trust in our system through the proper implementation of the act would also to a large extent equally attract foreign investments to the country.
`‘In a lot of countries now, when you do not have a data protection law, your data protection supervisory authority does not want to do business with you.
“With this law, we have been able to cross that stage and we know that an average investor coming to Nigeria will know that we have a law and we have an independent Data Protection Authority (DPA).
“If there is any breach of your personal data, you have somewhere to go.
‘’So it is a major milestone here in Nigeria.
“More importantly, the current administration is trying to use technology to drive development and that is why it is called the beginning of a new era,’’ Olatunji said.
According to him, the over 500,000 data processors and controllers in Nigeria need to register with NDPC, which is what the law says.
The commissioner said that Data Protection Officers (DPOs) and Data Protection Compliance Organizations (DPCOs) should be given six months to acquaint themselves with the provision of the law.
He said that was why the awareness would be repeated in Abuja.
He said that very soon, the commission would be seen on a lot of platforms and media house as well as social media to create awareness and for the data processors and controllers to register with the commission.
Olatunji said that if the commission could not count the DPOs and DPCOs and did not know them, how could they be regulated.
He said that those ones that could be captured within the ecosystem needed to be monitored on what the DPOs and DPCOs were doing and how they processed data.
According to him, from now and Dec. 31, the DPOs and DPCOs are to register with the commission and from Jan. 1 to March 31, 2024, they are to submit their annual audit reports and measures to safeguards database.
Olatunji earlier in his keynote address, highlighted the benefits of the NDPC Act as strengthening data security, building trust and consumers’ confidence.
He also highlighted promoting business competitiveness, aligning with international standard, compliance and accountability, amongst others, as benefits of the NDPC Act.
The commissioner, however, while calling for more DPOs, emphasized that the commission had the ability to create wealth and employment by creating about 500,000 digital jobs.
The Chairman, Association of Licensed Data Protection Compliance Organisation in Nigeria (ALDAPCON), Mr Ivan Anya, lauded the workshop.
Anya said that the workshop which was on awareness was one of the key pillars of the strategic roadmap of NDPC and would continue the awareness.
He said that now that the Act was available, there was the need to continue the awareness to encourage compliance.
