President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assented to the Nigeria Data Protection Act.
A statement on Wednesday issued by Babatunde Bamigboye, Head, Legal Enforcement and Regulations in Nigeria Data Protection Commission(NDPC), said the President assented to the Act on June 12th, 2023.
According to Bamigboye, Nigeria has taken a giant leap forward in the global data race with the assent to Nigeria Data Protection Act.
While applauding the President for renewing the hope of over 200 million Nigerians in the advancement of Privacy rights and other fundamental freedoms both in cyberspace and in analogue transactions, the Nigeria Data Protection Commission National Commissioner, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, equally expressed high optimism on the prospects of Nigeria’s Digital Economy following the emerging regulatory dispensation.
According to the statement, “The Nigeria Data Protection Bureau, pursuant to the express provisions of the new act, has transmitted into a full-fledged Commission and it is mandated to among others: “regulate the deployment of technological and organizational measures to enhance personal data protection; foster the development of personal data protection technologies, in accordance with recognised international best practices and applicable international law; and conduct investigations into any violation of a requirement under the Act.”
Other mandates of the NDPB as contained in the provisions of the new Act include to “impose penalties in respect of any violation of the provisions of the Act or subsidiary legislation made thereof; where necessary, accredit, license, and register suitable persons to provide data protection compliance services; issue regulations, rules, directives and guidance under the Act; and register data controllers and data processors of major importance.
Bamigboye explained that the Act is one of the strategic ways of meeting the campaign promise of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, of creating one million jobs in the digital economy sector.
He noted that about 500, 000 jobs are expected to be created through the training of Data Protection Officers and licensing of Data Protection Compliance Organizations to offer services to data controllers and processors.