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Lagos inaugurates data protection officers

The Lagos State Government has inducted and trained about 73 Data Protection Officers [DPOs] in the Public Sector drawn across various Ministries, Directorates and Agencies [MDAs] on management of the Data Protection act.

The Permanent Secretary Mrs Ibilola Kasunmu, declaring the workshop, open, said that the workshop aimed at developing competent data protection officers in the State, as there is a need for data protection officers operating in the public sector to intelligibly understand the divide between data security and data privacy.

She said the state is poised to develop a pool of competent data protection officers, noting that this is the first set of officers being trained as such training will be a continuous process.

Kasunmu said the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology has been saddled with the responsibility to ensure that all MDAs comply with the data protection policies, hence the Data Protection team from the Ministry and the Public Service Standards and Performance (PSSP) have earlier taken Sensitization and Awareness Programmes to MDAs.

The Permanent Secretary informed that the Nigerian Data Protection Bureau (NDPB), which is the Federal regulatory body for Data Protection has mandated all MDAs to appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPO).

She advised the DPOs to use the training as an opportunity to improve and acquire more knowledge, informing that if any MDA is found not complying with the data protection regulations, the State Government will be sanctioned.

“The primary role of the DPOs is to ensure that her organisation processes the personal data of its staff, customers, providers, or any other individuals (also referred to as data subjects) in compliance with the applicable data protection rules,” Kasunmu said.

The Permanent Secretary noted that the state government also recognised that data is today’s one of the most valuable resources for businesses and Governments to thrive, and the responsibilities around its privacy and protection are among the biggest challenges.

She noted that the objectives of data protection include, safeguarding the rights of natural persons to data privacy; fostering safe conduct for transactions involving the exchange of Personal Data; preventing manipulation of Personal Data and ensuring that Nigerian businesses remain competitive in international trade through the safeguards afforded by a just and equitable legal regulatory framework on data protection and which is in tune with best practices.

Papers delivered at the workshop includes - data privacy and protection;  data security in Lagos State;  role of the data protection officers; Health care data protection and data protection policies in Lagos State.

It should be recalled that Mr. Governor in Y2021, set up a Steering Committee on Data Governance and Privacy to oversee the implementation of the Data Protection program across the workforce, to ensure that the State complies with the Data Protection regulations.