By Kingsley I. Ilechukwu, Bureau Chief, South West
As a reward for her landmark achievements in the advancement of data privacy and protection, Nigeria has been admitted as a member of Global Privacy Assembly (GPA).
This is contained in a press statement issued by the Head, Media Unit, Nigeria Data Protection Commission(NDPC), Itunu Dosekun.
As per the statement, the Nigeria Data Protection Bill assented to by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was a major consideration in accrediting Nigeria as a member of the prestigious Assembly.
Similarly, “the establishment of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission under the Act as the independent data protection authority for Nigeria is a key index in assessing the adequacy of data protection in a country.”
The decision on Nigeria’s accreditation was announced during the 45th Global Privacy Assembly(GPA) Closed Session, held between October 15th through 20th, 2023 in Bermuda.
GPA which was instituted in 1979, seeks to provide international platform for coordinating trans-border efforts in the advancement of data privacy and protection. It currently comprises 130 Data Protection Authorities from countries around the world. Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, South Africa, Portugal, Canada, Senegal are some of the countries with DPAs in Global Privacy Assembly.
Upon receiving the news of Nigeria’s status as a member of the GPA, the National Commissioner/CEO, NDPC, Dr. Vincent Olatunji expressed optimism that the effort of the Federal Government on digital transformation was yielding positive results.
Dr. Olatunji called on stakeholders in the Data Processing ecosystem to maintain a high standard of care in handling personal data. This, according to him, would go a long way in strengthening trust and confidence in Nigeria’s emerging digital economy.
