The Federal Government of Nigerian has launched the Virtual Privacy Academy, a new digital training platform designed to deepen data protection and privacy policies in the private and public sectors.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, who unveiled the initiative during the 8th annual conference of the Network of African Data Protection Authorities, in Abuja, emphasised that the academy is part of Nigeria’s strategy to capitalise on the benefits of the digital economy by providing actors with the tools they need to navigate hazardous data governance landscape.
The three-day conference, titled “Balancing Innovation in Africa: Data Protection and Privacy in Emerging Technologies,” drew attendees from over 30 African countries, as well as Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the United States.
According to Tijani, Virtual Privacy Academy project would provide Nigerians with the opportunity to gain practical skills in data protection.
Also speaking at the event, National Commissioner of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr. Vincent Olatunji, highlighted Nigeria’s recent data governance milestones during his address.
He stated that the Commission had completed over 5,000 compliance assessments, opened 223 investigations, and assisted 12 organisations with rehabilitation.
Dr. Olatunji urged African countries who have yet to pass data protection laws to do so, emphasizing that “strong data protection frameworks are not barriers to innovation, but enablers of a resilient and inclusive digital economy.”
