Data Protection Critical To Nigeria’s Future, Sovereignty — NCC
By Stella Enenche, Abuja
The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, has said that data protection is central to Nigeria’s future, economic independence and national sovereignty.
Dr. Maida stated this on Thursday in Abuja during the official signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the NCC and the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC).
Speaking after the signing, the NCC boss described data as a strategic national asset, stressing that safeguarding citizens’ data would shape the country’s future governance and economic structures.
“And this is why data protection is very, very important to the future and sovereignty of this nation,” he said.
According to him, the partnership is laying the groundwork for a future where citizens have greater control over their personal data, noting that emerging global trends could see a shift from traditional labour unions to “data unions.”
“You’re laying the foundations whereby people have a right to govern their own data. In the future, I believe we’re going to be moving away from labour unions to data unions,” Maida said.
He warned that many Nigerians remain unaware of the volume and value of data they generate daily, a gap that allows third parties to monetise personal information without users’ full understanding or consent.
“People need to know that they have data, they need to be aware of the data they are generating and they need to know their rights around that data. If they don’t know it, somebody will monetise it,” he explained.
Maida added that platforms often presented as “free” are, in reality, funded through the monetisation of users’ data, a practice he said must increasingly be subject to informed consent.
“It’s going to get to a point whereby you too should have your rights to either say yes, you can use it, or no, you cannot use it,” he noted.
Earlier, the National Commissioner of the NDPC, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, said the collaboration with the NCC was critical to effectively embedding data privacy and protection within Nigeria’s telecommunications sector.
“How do we properly situate data privacy and protection within the telecom sector? We can’t do it without you,” Olatunji said, noting that telecom operators fall squarely within the NCC’s regulatory mandate.
He explained that the partnership process began last year, aimed at combining the NDPC’s expertise in data privacy with the NCC’s regulatory oversight of the telecom industry.
“Our expertise and skills in data privacy, and your skills and expertise in regulating your sector when we bring these two together, that is the only way we can effectively do what is right for our country and for our people,” he said.
Olatunji stressed that the MoU would strengthen cooperation between both agencies to ensure the privacy and protection of Nigerians’ data held by data controllers and processors across the telecommunications ecosystem.
“We are coming together to put pen to paper to see how we can effectively work together to take care of the privacy and protection of the data of all Nigerians,” he said.
