Data Protection Ecosystem, Capable Of Generating Revenue – FG

The Federal Government has said the data privacy and protection ecosystem has the capacity to generate more revenue for the ICT sector and consolidate economy diversification.
The Minister of Communications, Innovations and Digital Economy,  Dr Bosun Tijani, said this at the second anniversary dinner and awards night of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) in Abuja recently.
The Tide’s source reports that the awards night was the climax of activities to mark the National Data Privacy Week which took place from January 28 to February 4, 2024.
Data privacy week is celebrated in Nigeria alongside the Global Privacy Day on January 28, a day set aside to create awareness on the need for data protection.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Faruk Yabo,  Tijani said  the ICT sector in the second quarter of 2023 contributed 18.45 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
“With such figure, which is the highest so far, it will be important that we continue to leverage on that success to ensure the development of the sector.
“Data protection is part of the core of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and we hope that the sector can continue to contribute to the growth of our digital economy”, he said.
Earlier, the National Commissioner of NDPC, Dr Vincent Olatunji, said much responsibilities had been vested on the commission with the signing of the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) in 2023.
Olatunji noted  that in ensuring the implementation of the NDPA, the commission had come up with the Nigeria Data Protection Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (NDA-SRAP).
He said the five pillars of the roadmap aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu and the mandates of the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy.
He listed the pillars to include governance, which addressed the regulatory powers of the Commission through actions and initiatives on the enabling law for data protection.
Others were human capital development, ecosystem and technology, cooperation and collaboration, as well as funding and sustainability.
According to him, notable progress had been made in the implementation of the act, adding, however, that a lot more needed to be done with support from relevant stakeholders.