NITDA seals deal with EU on data protection compliance

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has entered into a strategic partnership with the European Data Protection Office (EDPO) to enable Nigerian businesses comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The partnership was sealed at the Gulf International Technology Exhibition taking place in Dubai, UAE, on Tuesday.

This partnership is a huge step forward in Nigeria’s drive towards compliance with data protection, the Director General of NITDA, Mr Kashfu Abdullahi Inuwa said.

NITDA had issued the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) in January 2019 with the objective of protecting personal data, improve ease of doing business in Nigeria and to create jobs for over 300,000 Nigerians through the unique implementation model of the NDPR, Inuwa said.

The meeting which had in attendance top NITDA officials and Ms. Lucia Canga, the Head of the EDPO delegation saw NITDA designated as the contact point for Nigerian entities that seek to comply with the GDPR.

It will also make EDPO facilitator of Nigeria’s aspiration to become the first African country to meet the European Union’s GDPR adequacy requirement which would open Nigerian businesses to opportunities in the European market.

NITDA would also, through its licensed Data Protection Compliance Organisations (DPCOs), assist Nigerian entities to be fully compliant with the GDPR thereby ensuring global competitiveness and business continuity.

Meanwhile, the EDPO representative also had a meeting with the Minister of Communications, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami who reaffirmed Nigeria’s readiness to partner with EDPO to actualize the country’s objective of improving ease of doing business in Nigeria and to make Nigerian companies have global relevance in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s economic diversification agenda.

It will be recalled that NITDA is empowered by Section 6 (c) of the NITDA Act of 2007 to develop guidelines for electronic governance and monitor the use of electronic data interchange and other forms of electronic communication transactions as an alternative to paper-based methods in government, commerce, education, the private and public sectors, labour, and other fields, where the use of electronic communication may improve the exchange of data and information.