President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Dr. Vincent Olatunji, as the National Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB).

The approval followed a request made by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami.

This is contained in a statement issued by Mrs. Uwa Suleiman, Spokesperson of the Minister, on Friday in Abuja.

The NDPB, she said, was established in line with global best practices and would focus on data protection and privacy for the country, among others.

“The successful implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a Digital Nigeria has significantly increased the adoption of data platforms and accelerated the datafication of our society.

“This has increased the importance of having an institution that focuses on data protection and privacy,” she said.

She further explained that the issuance of Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), subsidiary legislation to the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Act 2007, increased awareness about the need for data protection and privacy.

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She said that the NDPB would be responsible for consolidating the gains of NDPR and supporting the process for the development of primary legislation for data protection and privacy.

Olatunji holds a Ph.D. in Geography and Planning from the University of Lagos and an Advance Diploma in Computer Science.