The National Commissioner/CEO of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr Vincent Olatunji, delivered the keynote address at the Stakeholder Engagement on the Development of the Data Protection and Privacy Framework for the Financial, Hospitality and Telecommunications Sectors.

In his remarks, Dr Olatunji highlighted the benefits of stakeholder engagement, including the involvement of regulators, policymakers, industry leaders, academia and others, in shaping policies. He noted that the NDPC prioritises these engagements in its rule-making process, as stakeholders in different sectors contributed significantly to the drafting of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 (NDP Act), as well as the General Application and Implementation Directive (GAID).

Dr Olatunji explained that the Commission recognised the need for sector-specific compliance guidelines under the provisions of the NDP Act, given the broad framework that the NDP Act establishes across multiple sectors. He stated that stakeholders were engaged to contribute their expertise from their respective sectors to assist in developing guidelines that are practical, proportionate and enforceable.

Resource persons who facilitated the engagement included the Chair of the African Union Cyber Security Expert Group, Alhaji Abdul-Hakeem Ajijola; the CEO of Management Edge Limited, Mr Ayodeji Abitogun; and a Financial Consultant, Professor Rufus Olowe. Other stakeholders at the event included the President of the Data Knowledge Information Privacy Protection Initiative (DKIPPI), Mr Tokunbo Smith; and the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Data Protection Compliance Organisations of Nigeria (ALDAPCON), Mr Ivan Anya, among others.