DSPL commends FG over establishment of NDPB, Olatunji as pioneer CEO

Data Services Protection Limited (DSPL), one of the licensed Data Protection Compliance Organisations (DPCOs) in the country, has commended the Federal Government for approving the establishment of the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) and the appointment of Dr. Vincent Olatunji as the pioneer National Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer of the bureau.

Chief Executive Officer of DSPL, Mr. Tunde Balogun, in a statement last week, said both the creation of the bureau 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 Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr 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.

The ministry in a 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.”

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 NITDA.