The National Commissioner/CEO of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr Vincent Olatunji, delivered the opening keynote on the second day of the ongoing IoT West Africa, co-located with the Power & Water Nigeria Conference & Exhibition at the Landmark Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.

During his presentation titled “Safeguarding Nigeria’s Digital Economy: Data Protection, Privacy and the Role of Data Centres”, he spoke on the scale and impact of the digital economy, data explosion and its transformation into critical infrastructure, and the rising threats in the digital ecosystem. He also spoke on data protection and privacy in Nigeria, and on the global importance of data protection and privacy.

Dr Olatunji highlighted the significance of data sovereignty and the accompanying need for data centres, the growth of data centres in Nigeria, the regulatory expectations for data centres, the benefits of compliance, and the consequences of non-compliance with regulatory frameworks, especially the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 (NDP Act).

Following his opening keynote address, Dr Olatunji also appeared as a guest on a podcast, where he discussed trust as the currency of the digital age, data protection as a key driver for cloud services in Nigeria, the balance between regulation and innovation, the risks associated with data sovereignty, and the efforts of the education sector to ensure that Nigerians acquire skills aligned with the digital economy.