NDPC grants institute licence to certify data protection professionals

The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has granted a licence to the Institute of Information Management (IIM) to conduct examinations and certify data protection professionals.

Vincent Olatunji, NCDC national commissioner, presented the licence to the institution in Abuja on Monday.

Olatunji said certifying data protection professionals in the country would reduce capital flight and create over 500,000 jobs in the sector.

“We are trying to ensure implementation of Executive Orders 003 and 005 to promote local content in Nigeria,” the commissioner said.

“Most of us who are certified data protection officers have international certifications; we paid some dollars to write exams as well as maintain the certificates.

“We are trying to domesticate this in Nigeria by having a national certification process.

“Looking at our population, we need over 500,000 certified data protection officers. We cannot afford to allow capital flight in this area.”

Olatunji added that the commission is considering making the licence pan-African “whereby data professionals have the national certification we have in Nigeria and can also practise in any part of Africa”.

“It is a way of creating jobs for our people, reducing capital flight, and developing global human capital in the data protection ecosystem,” he said.

The commissioner expressed optimism that the certification would be a historic legacy transcending administrations and meeting global standards.