The National Commissioner and CEO of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr Vincent Olatunji, said on Wednesday that Nigeria is now a global player as the country’s Data Protection and Privacy ecosystem now peaked at about 16.2 billion naira in value.

Dr Olatunji attributed the feat to pragmatic steps taken by the leadership of the Commission following the signing into law of the Data Privacy and Protection Act by President Bola Tinubu in June 2023.

The NDPC boss said in less than four years the NDPC has transformed into a global institutions with no fewer than 12 countries understudying its ecosystem, while some institutions had signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NDPC on how to replicate the Commission’s achievements in their country.

Speaking during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Data Protection and Privacy Summit at the Transcorp Hotel, Abuja on Wednesday, Dr Olatunji praised President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Communications, Innovations and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani for the transformations taking place in the sector.

He announced that besides the on going massive awareness campaigns embarked upon by the NDPC under his leadership, the Commission has been able to ensure the conclusion of investigations on 246 data privacy breaches by various institutions in the country.

Olatunji said while appropriate sanctions and remediation mechanisms have been meted out, no fewer than 23,000 new jobs have been created within the ecosystem, while government has earned 5.2 billion naira in compliance revenue from the sector.

He said the 2026 National Privacy Week with the theme “Privacy in the Age of Emerging Technologies: Trust, Ethics, and Innovation” which started on 28th January through to 4th February, ending with the summit would further enlighten Nigerians, the private and public sectors about the significance of data protection and privacy in the context of national security and economic development.

Listing the achievements of the NDPC, Dr Olatunji said, “The Commission initiated a multi-sector compliance drive, issuing compliance notices to 1,348 entities in August 2025 across the banking, insurance, pension, and gaming sectors, strengthening engagement and informing enforcement actions.

“Since the signing of Act by Mr President over 23,000 new jobs have been created within the ecosystem while the value of the data protection ecosystem is now over N16.2b.”

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Communications, Innovations and Digital Economy, Mr Nadungu Gagare said the choice of the theme of the summit could not have been more relevant given the challenges of digitalisation in contemporary global economy.

The Permanent Secretary who was represented by Adetunji Adeyemo, a Director in the Universal Service Provision Department in the Ministry, called for ethical guidance that respect human dignity in the management of personal information and citizens’ data

He said responsible data management would be a catalyst to the growth and development of Nigeria economy, stressing that protection and privacy of data by institutions would not constitute any obstacle to innovations in the digital space.

He emphasised trust, credibility and collaboration of stakeholders in data protection and privacy, assuring that the government would continue to strengthen regulatory frameworks and build capacity of its workforce to enable them carry out their duties efficiently and effectively.

The Permanent Secretary further said emerging technologies such Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and others should be leveraged and deployed ethically to improve Nigeria Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while the private and public sectors, academia and civil society groups should work together to protect the private rights of citizens.

He emphasised trust, credibility and collaboration of stakeholders in data protection and privacy, assuring that the government would continue to strengthen regulatory frameworks and build capacity of its workforce to enable them carry out their duties efficiently and effectively.

The Permanent Secretary further said emerging technologies such Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and others should be leveraged and deployed ethically to improve Nigeria Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while the private and public sectors, academia and civil society groups should work together to protect the private rights of citizens. (The Nation)

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