The Managing Director, Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, says data is now the life of businesses, applauding efforts to support data protection in the nation’s digital economy.
Adesugba said this when Dr Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner, Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) visited him in Abuja.
A statement issued on Friday by Martins Odeh, Head Corporate Communications, NEPZA, said that NEPZA and NDPB have agreed to create awareness on the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR).
The statement quoted the NEPZA boss as saying that creating awareness of NDPR in the Free Trade Zones would drive the country’s digital economy.
Adesugba said, “We are excited that this Bureau was established by the president to support data protection in our digital economy.
“Data is now the life of businesses and we must do everything to ensure its sustainable development.
“Everything we want to do depends on data processing.
“We pledge to support this effort at the Free Trade Zones (FTZs) where we can have substantial private sector participation.
“Our advice, however, is that the Bureau should make compliance inexpensive and make breaches highly prohibitive,’’ Adesugba said.
On his part, Olatunji expressed delight on NEPZA’s readiness to activate partnership of zones’ operators with the agency.
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He said that the move would bolster investments in data businesses and protection in the country.
Olatunji said: “The active implementation of the NDPR began in 2019 and by 2020, 630 data controllers filed NDPR compliance audit report.
“The figure increased by almost 100 per cent in 2021 with about 1,230 audit filings’’.
He explained that over 8000 jobs were created and the cumulative earnings in the sector was also over N4billion.
(NAN)
