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).
In a statement made available to The Witness on Tuesday by Head of Corporate Affairs and External Relations at NITDA, Mrs. Hadiza Umar, mnipr, m.apra, mcipr, the IT agency said the partnership which was sealed at the on-going Gulf International Technology Exhibition taking place in Dubai, UAE, is a huge step forward in Nigeria’s drive towards compliance with data protection.
Recall that NITDA 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.
Accirding to the statement, the outcome of the meeting which had in attendance top NITDA officials and Ms. Lucia Canga, the Head of the EDPO delegation are as follows:
1. NITDA has been designated as the contact point for Nigerian entities that seek to comply with the GDPR
2. EDPO would facilitate 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.
3. NITDA would 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.
The EDPO representative also had a meeting with the Honourable 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 Muhammandu Buhari GCFR economic diversification agenda.
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.