The National Commissioner/CEO of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr Vincent Olatunji, delivered a keynote lecture on, “Leadership: An Imperative for Achieving Organisational Goals,” on the second day of the Strategic Management and Organisational Effectiveness Retreat for top management staff of the Commission.

In his address, Dr Olatunji emphasised the need for a paradigm shift in leadership and organisational culture to strengthen institutional effectiveness and advance the Commission’s data protection mandate in Nigeria. He highlighted the strategic role of leadership in driving the vision and goals of the Commission, noting that every member of staff has a leadership role to play in advancing data protection awareness, compliance, and the protection of data subjects’ rights.

The National Commissioner further emphasised integrity, emotional intelligence, effective communication, creativity, adaptability, and empathy as essential leadership qualities required to uphold global best practices in data protection and position the NDPC as a leading data protection authority in Africa, while promoting a culture of privacy and accountability among data controllers and data processors across the country.

Dr Olatunji also encouraged members of staff to overcome the fear of failure, build confidence in their abilities, and lead with authenticity while contributing meaningfully to the realisation of the Commission’s objectives and Nigeria’s evolving data protection ecosystem.