By Matthew Eloyi
Dr. Vincent Olatunji has been appointed as the National Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Prof. Isa Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, had requested the approval.
Mrs. Uwa Suleiman, the minister’s spokesperson, disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Abuja.
According to her, the NDPB was established in line with global best practices and would focus on data protection and privacy for the country, among others.
In her words, “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.”
She further explained that the issuance of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), subsidiary legislation to the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Act 2007, increased awareness about the need for data protection and privacy.
She said that the NDPB would be responsible for consolidating the gains of NDPR and supporting the process for the development of primary legislation for data protection and privacy.
Olatunji holds a PhD in Geography and Planning from the University of Lagos and an Advance Diploma in Computer Science.