Nigeria is set to host representatives from over 40 countries on data privacy laws in May 2025, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) says.
The NDPC chief who announced this says the planned event is part of the Nigeria’s ambitious drive to strengthen its leadership in the global data privacy ecosystem.
Hosting Global Stakeholders
Nigeria’s selection to host this prestigious event was finalised during the 9th Annual General Meeting of the Network of African Data Protection Authorities (NADPA-RAPDP), held in Nairobi, Kenya. Under the leadership of Dr. Olatunji, the NDPC successfully emerged as the winning bidder to host the global gathering.
“We never really issued any fines this year,” Dr Olatunji admits, “but going forward, you’ll hear about heavy penalties.”
NADPA-RAPDP, founded in 2016 in Ouagadougou, comprises 23 Data Protection Authorities across Africa. The network aims to foster collaboration among its members and amplify Africa’s voice in global data protection discussions. Since joining the network in 2022, Dr Olatunji says that Nigeria has taken on an active role, including coordinating the Regulatory Harmonization working group during the recently concluded 2024 annual meeting.
“We won the hosting rights to bring about 40 countries who already have existing laws on data privacy and protection. By May next year, we’ll be bringing the whole world into Nigeria’s privacy ecosystem,” the NDPC chief adds.
NDPC to focus on job creation and data privacy enforcements
Reflecting on the NDPC’s activities this year, Dr. Olatunji highlights significant strides made in awareness and sensitisation campaigns.
“We have five major pillars: governance, awareness, Federal Capital development, ecosystem and technology, funding and sustainability, and cooperation and collaboration,” he explains. “One of the major things we tried to do this year was to deepen privacies in different areas of the private and public sectors.”
According to him, the NDPC organised nearly 200 engagements, including workshops and training sessions, while working closely with regulators and security professionals.
As part of its roadmap for 2025, NDPC plans to intensify efforts in creating a pool of professionals to drive the data privacy sector. “We are going to start seeing the results of the experts and professionals we are developing in this ecosystem, which will lead to job creation,” Dr. Olatunji says.
He says that individuals trained and certified this year would be supported to enter the job market in 2025. Additionally, the NDPC will adopt a stricter enforcement approach, targeting data controllers and processors who fail to comply with regulations.
“We never really issued any fines this year,” Dr Olatunji admits, “but going forward, you’ll hear about heavy penalties.”
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