Oghenevwede Ohwovoriole in Abuja
The National Data Protection Commission, NDPC, is to train permanent secretaries and heads of parastatals on data protection.
NDPC National Commissioner, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, disclosed this at the opening of a three-day technical and organisational drill on data protection measures for information technology administrators across Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs), on Monday in Abuja.
Olatunji disclosed that plans are underway for the commission to train permanent secretaries and heads of parastatals in the country.
“We’ve already opened conversation with the head of the civil service of the federation, that’s the body that controls permanent secretaries and all civil servants, and we are discussing with them just to get the appropriate time to ensure that we have all the permanent secretaries in one group, to create awareness,
“Let them understand what data protection is all about, because there are public servants, civil servants in all the ministries and parastatals. Whatever you want to; they are the ones that approve it.
“We believe in a bottom-up approach… we also complement that with the top-bottom approach. By the time the files from the subordinates get to them, it’s very easy for them to approve and give them the right to participate in whatever we are doing,” he said.
He noted, “N”o matter how robust your plans and policies are, if you don’t have the qualified human capital, skilled personnel to drive whatever you are doing, you can’t achieve anything, and that is why this is really important to work.”
He added that “looking at the wave of attacks in the recent months, we felt it’s really important for us to create awareness, let network administrators, and data protection officers (DPOs) know what they need to put in place in terms of technical and organisational measures, to ensure that they protect their network, and database from unauthorized access that will lead to negative consequences on the part of the evaluation.”
According to him, it can lead to financial losses, or reputational damage.
In her opening remarks, Head, Training Committee/Research and Development, Dr. Tolu Pius-Fadipe, said, it was the aim of the commission to build a strong data privacy architecture across MDAs, adding the purpose of this was to foster a culture of responsible data management.
“The commission is very committed to ensuring personal data and rights are well protected. Therefore, the purpose of this technical organisational measure is for government agencies to test, validate, and improve their ability to protect sensitive public data and maintain critical services during crisis,” Pius-Fadipe said.
