The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has stated that the country’s data protection currently has an economic value of more than N10 billion. Dr. Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner of the NDPC, announced this on Tuesday at an event commemorating the Commission’s first anniversary.
Olatunji stated that the industry was able to reach this level of economic value as a result of the Data Protection Act being signed into law on June 12, 2023.
“The law legitimized the NDPC, and we now have global recognition, as well as an ecosystem worth more than N10 billion. “The law has positioned Nigeria for digital presence,” he stated.
According to Olatunji, signing the law increased the NDPC’s reputation and attracted widespread attention in Nigeria and around the world.
“The remarkable thing about the law is that we applied for the Global Privacy Assembly (GPA) in 2022 as a bureau. Our application was rejected because we needed National legislation on data protection.
“Having been accredited for less than a year, Nigeria is on the front page of the GPA’s newsletter for this quarter, which is a big deal for us,” he said.
He stated that the Commission has also secured the possibility of hosting Data Protection Officers (DPOs) from Africa at a conference in May 2025, which would impact the country’s economic value.
He stated that the conference would help to transform the country’s worldwide perception and attract foreign direct investment.
The National Commissioner stated that as part of its efforts to strengthen the industry, the Commission would shortly launch a program to train 1000 Data Protection Officers (DPOs) around the country for free.
While adding that the program is part of President Bola Tinubu’s employment creation plans, he stated that DPOs would be accredited as trainers.
“In terms of job creation and training, we have made significant efforts to strengthen data protection in Nigeria. Part of what we’re doing in the ministry is training 10,000 public servants on responsible data handling for which the portal was created.
Olatunji stated that when the Nigeria Data Protection Bill was put into law in June, the industry contributed N5.5 billion to Nigeria’s GDP. With the Act in place, Olatunji predicted that the industry’s contribution to GDP would increase.
According to him, data protection has the potential to create more than 500,000 jobs. While noting that Nigeria, as the world’s fifth most populous country, generates massive amounts of data that must be protected from compromise, Olatunji stated that there are at least 500,000 data-generating bodies in Nigeria, each of which requires Data Protection Officers to guide against breaches as outlined in the Data Protection Act.
