Nigeria’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector contributed 18.45 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2023.
Bosun Tijani, the Minister of Communications, Innovations and Digital Economy, stated this at the 2nd Anniversary Dinner and Awards Night of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) in Abuja, on Sunday, February 4.
Represented by Faruk Yabo, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Tijani said “The sector can generate more revenue and consolidate economic diversification.”
“With such a figure which is the highest so far, it will be important that we continue to leverage that success to ensure the development of the sector.
“Data protection is part of the core of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and we hope that the sector can continue to contribute to the growth of our digital economy,’’ said Tijani.
Earlier, the National Commissioner of NDPC, Vincent Olatunji, said that many responsibilities had been vested on the commission with the signing of the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) in 2023.
He said that in ensuring the implementation of the NDPA, the commission had come up with the Nigeria Data Protection Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (NDA-SRAP).
He said, “The five pillars of the roadmap aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu and the mandates of the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy.”
He listed governance as one of the pillars, which addressed the regulatory powers of the commission through actions and initiatives on enabling law data protection.
Olatunji also listed human capital development, ecosystem and technology, cooperation and collaboration, and funding and sustainability.
He said notable progress had been made in the implementation of the act, “however a lot more needed to be done with support from relevant stakeholders.”
Data Privacy Week is celebrated in Nigeria alongside the Global Privacy Day on Jan. 28, a day set aside to create awareness of the need for data protection.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) received the award for `Most Compliant Organisation, while the Special Recognition Award was given to Mr Lanre Gbajabiamila, Director-General, of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission.
Other activities were a news conference, a webinar on data protection achievements in some African countries, policy dialogue, visitation to schools to preach data protection, and a hackathon.
Highlights of the award night were the release of the commission’s annual report of 2023 and the prize giving to the teams that participated in the hackathon
