The National Commissioner/CEO of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr Vincent Olatunji, led a delegation from the Commission to the French Embassy in Lagos, where they were received by the Regional Economic Department team of the Embassy, led by the Economic Counsellor and Delegate to the Head of the Regional Economic Department, Lagos Office, Ms Laura Marie.

The visit, which was a follow-up to a recent meeting with the Head of the Regional Economic Department for Nigeria–Ghana, Mr Florent Mangin, at the French Embassy in Abuja, aimed to deliberate on the proposed areas of partnership between the NDPC and France.

Ms Marie welcomed the NDPC team and expressed her delight at the Commission’s interest in establishing a technical partnership with France. She outlined the proposed areas of collaboration, which include audit and oversight capacities, data protection in service design, and awareness creation among citizens and stakeholders.

Dr Olatunji appreciated the French team for the warm reception and emphasised that the partnership would mark the beginning of great things between Nigeria and France, particularly in the area of data protection and privacy. He briefly discussed the overview of the Nigeria Data Protection Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (NDP SRAP), highlighting its pillars and linking them to the proposed areas of collaboration. He also discussed the Commission’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, which is being adopted by other Data Protection Authorities.

The proposed areas of collaboration were further discussed by both teams, as well as the collaboration framework, next steps, and expected outcomes of the partnership, among others. Following the meeting, a networking cocktail reception was organised in honour of the NDPC delegation, bringing together members of the delegation and representatives of the Team France & Europe community, accompanied by the Consul General of France in Lagos, Mr Laurent Favier.