E-Business
NDPB Calls for Stronger Privacy Standards to Drive Digital ID
National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has been called upon by Nigeria’s new data privacy authority to set high standards for data protection and privacy as one of the ways of strengthening the country’s digital ID ecosystem.
Dr. Vincent Olatunji, national commissioner of Nigeria Data Protection Bureau
Dr. Vincent Olatunji, national commissioner of Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB), during a working visit to the NIMC headquarters.
The NDPB was officially launched on April 11.
Speaking through a statement , Olatunji underlined the importance of data protection and privacy to the growth and development of Nigeria’s digital economy, saying there cannot be a proper digital identity landscape without sufficient safeguards for data protection and privacy.
“The commission (NIMC) which is the highest data controller in the country should be a model for other data controllers since data is the foundation of everything in the country’s digital economy. There is nothing you would want to do in the digital economy without proper identity and you can’t achieve that without adequate privacy and protection of data,” a portion of the statement read.
Meanwhile, Olatunji, in a separate visit to the premises of the Nigeria Digital Identity for Development project (ID4D), raised similar concerns, expressing the wish to see the putting in place of a harmonized National Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) framework, as reported by Independent.
According to the NDPB National Commissioner, the ID4D project has been doing a great job in coordinating Nigeria’s digital economy drive. Nigeria’s digital ID scheme, recall, is partly funded through the ID4D facility of the World Bank, as well as other financing from the European Investment Bank and the French Development Agency (AFD).
Olatunji explained that the NDPB is already engaging with relevant stakeholders on the drafting of the data protection regulation, which he believes, if well worked on, will make the legal instrument robust and more accepted.
“After the drafting of the bill, we will need to engage stakeholders and make them see it as their own because they are making important contributions to whatever we are doing. We are already mobilizing them to get them ready for the bill that is coming,” Olatunji was quoted as saying.
Efforts have been on to get a Data Protection Regulation in place in Nigeria since 2018, but a move by the federal government last year to abandon an old draft of the text triggered anger in some quarters.
Visa, global payment services giant, has announced plans to establish a data centre infrastructure in Nigeria.
Andrew Torre, Visa’s regional president for central and eastern Europe and Vice-President Kashim Shettima
According to a statement by Stanley Nkwocha, senior special assistant to the president on media and communications (office of the vice-president) on Friday, Andrew Torre, Visa’s regional president for central and eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, spoke during a courtesy visit to Vice-President Kashim Shettima at the presidential villa in Abuja.
“This is in addition to its investments of over $1 billion in the country, including a substantial technological partnership with @moniepoint to foster digital payment solutions, a $200 million investment in Interswitch, and a partnership with @thriveagric to empower smallholder farmers and enhance food security in Nigeria,” the statement reads.
During the meeting, Torre said the plan to establish the data centre infrastructure aims to bring new technologies into the Nigerian market that would bolster the nation’s growing digital economy.
“Visa has been making investments and will continue to make these investments in Nigeria,” he said.
Responding, Shettima welcomed Visa’s expansion efforts, assuring the delegation that the partnership between Visa and the Nigerian government would continue to flourish.
The vice-president commended the company for investing in ThriveAgric, noting that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is deeply committed to repositioning the agriculture sector, which remains a top priority in its 8-point agenda.
“Nigeria is where the action is. Of the 10 fintechs in Africa, about eight are in Nigeria, with moniepoint as the newest addition,” Shettima said.
“Agriculture is key to the 8-point agenda of the present administration. President @officialABAT is really keen on repositioning the agriculture industry here, and we have to invest in technology, we have to invest in modernisation.”
On January 23, Moniepoint, a Nigerian fintech company, announced it secured investment from Visa to support the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Andrew Torre, Visa’s regional president for central and eastern Europe and Vice-President Kashim Shettima
Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has approved N242.8m for the procurement of a Microsoft 365 licence for its Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) as part of efforts to digitise the service’s operations.
Mr Michael Ango, acting executive chairman of FCT-IRS, disclosed this after the FCT Executive Committee meeting chaired by Mr Nyesom Wike, the minister of FCTA, in Abuja on Wednesday.
Ango said that the FCTA was making significant investments in technology to enhance revenue generation and collection.
“So, this is also one of those investments in technology that the FCT is undertaking.
“The licence, if procured, will enhance our ability to move most of our manual processes into automated processes.
“It will enhance our ability to communicate within our offices,” he said.
The executive chairman added that the move would also reduce the use of paper and ensure better record-keeping through the storage of information and documents in the cloud.
According to him, “The licence will essentially enhance our operations and assist us in generating revenue for the development of the FCT under Wike’s leadership.”
Rack Centre, West Africa’s Tier III Carrier and Cloud neutral data centre, has welcomed Olla Cloud Service, a new private cloud service by Olla Systems Limited, a leading provider of innovative technology solutions, to its facility.
Hosting at Rack Centre, Olla Cloud Service runs on a state-of-the-art, cloud-enabled infrastructure for enterprise applications across diverse platforms, including mission critical application, web applications as well as containerised applications using Kubernetes.
Lars Johannisson, CEO, Rack Centre, welcoming Olla Systems, noted that the partnership with Olla Systems Limited would reflect the company’s commitment to providing African businesses with high- quality cloud computing services.
He noted that Olla Systems would enjoy Rack Centre’s 13.5MW data centre campus facility, designed to meet the highest international standards and offering scalable solutions to Hyperscalers, Enterprises, and Cloud service providers.
As part of its commitment to sustainability, the facility is equipped with energy-efficient systems, advanced cooling technologies to mitigate environmental impact and an optimally-designed feature to handle high-density workloads with precision.
According to Johannisson, “With Olla Cloud Service hosting at Rack Centre, clients will experience fast performance and low latency, enabling businesses in Africa to access world-class cloud computing services within a secure and compliant local infrastructure.”
Also speaking, Olusola Adenuga, chief executive officer, Olla Systems Limited, expressed enthusiasm about hosting at Rack Centre, noting that Olla Cloud remains a groundbreaking private cloud solution for businesses.
While highlighting the benefits of the partnership between Rack Centre and Olla Systems, Adenuga disclosed that “subscribing to Olla Cloud Service is cost-effective to customers because of its local currency payment advantage.”
She also noted that the partnership between the duo, provides businesses the opportunity to meet regulatory requirements of data residency, while enjoying world-class infrastructure as a service (IaaS) locally.
“Other benefits of hosting with Olla Cloud include: 24/7 support, unparalleled performance, scalability and agility.” she added.
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