NDPB targets 250,000 Nigerians for capacity building in ICT

The Nigerian Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) has revealed that it will build the capacity of 50,000 Nigerians on data protection annually for the next five years.

The National Commissioner of the Bureau, Dr Vincent Olatunji disclosed this during a one-day capacity-building workshop on Data Protection and Privacy for members of the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) in Abuja.

He said the NDPB is trying to put in place a certification mechanism and its target is to ensure that it builds the capacity of about 50,000 Nigerians every year.

“So in the next 5 years, on our own, we are looking at building that capacity of 250,000 Nigerians. And the good thing is that it doesn’t have any age limit.

He said in Nigeria, the last survey that was conducted shows that the country has over 500,000 data controllers and data processors.

Dr Olatunji said in Nigeria today, those who are certified as data protection officers are not up to 3000.

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“You can see the gap. Where we have over 500,000 data processors and controllers and each of them is supposed to have a DPO.

“Whereas, the number of certified DPOs in Nigeria are not up to 10,000. So we have a gap of about 490,000, jobs waiting for people.

“So this is a completely new sector that will create jobs, that will create worth for the country. Part of the target of the digital economy sector is to create two million jobs in 24 months.

“You can now imagine if the data privacy system alone already has about 490,000 jobs waiting. You can imagine what that can do. You can imagine all the banks, insurance companies, hotels, schools, aviation, and all sectors, employing DPOs.

“Imagine what that will do for the country. So it’s a sector that is loaded with potentials to create jobs and to create wealth for Nigerians.

“But if we are giving out this information and they are not reported accurately, we will definitely miss out on knowing that fact of what is really happening and that is why this training is important for you people,” he added.

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