The Federal Government through the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has been admitted as a member of the Global Privacy Assembly (GPA).
Mr Itunu Dosekun, Head of Media unit of NDPC disclosed this on Tuesday in a statement issued in Abuja.
The admission, Dosekun said, was in recognition of the country’s achievements in the advancement of data privacy and protection.
He also said that the major ground for accreditation was the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA).
Dosekun also said the establishment of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission under the Act as the independent data protection authority for Nigeria was a key index in assessing the adequacy of data protection in a country.
According to him, the decision on Nigeria’s accreditation was announced during the 45th Global Privacy Assembly closed session, which was held between October 15 to 20, in Bermuda, U.S.
“GPA was instituted in 1979 and seeks to provide an 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 like Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, South Africa, Portugal, Canada and Senegal,” he said.
Dr Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner, NDPC in the statement expressed optimism that the effort of the Federal Government on digital transformation was yielding positive results.
He called on stakeholders in the data processing ecosystem to maintain high standard of care in handling personal data, adding that it would strengthen trust and confidence in Nigeria’s emerging digital economy.
