The National Commissioner, Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB), Dr Vincent Olatunji, has urged the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to adequately safeguard Nigerian data.
He also urged NIMC to set the pace in ensuring data privacy and protection as the leading data controller in the country.
He said this during a working visit to the corporate headquarters of NIMC on Thursday.
This was contained in a press statement issued by the spokesperson for the National Information Technology Development Agency, Hadiza Umar.
The National Commissioner, in a statement, said, “The commission which is the highest data controller in the country should be a model for other data controllers since data is the foundation of everything in the country’s digital economy.”
He was also quoted saying, “There is nothing you would want to do in the digital economy without proper identity and you can’t achieve that without adequate privacy and protection of data.”
He added, “With the registration of the National Identification Number in the country hitting about 80 million, I don’t know any other data controller in the country with the number of data you have uniquely, a fact which necessitated our visit here and should be a model for other data controllers to emulate in the country.”
Speaking, the NIMC DG, Abdulaziz Abubakar, assured the NDPB of the commission’s support in ensuring data privacy and protection in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation.
