NDPC boss says Nigeria lacks 500,000 data protection officers

The National Commissioner, Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr. Vincent Olatunji, has disclosed that Nigeria has a deficit manpower of about 500,000 data protection officers across the country.

Olatunji made the disclosure during a chat with newsmen in Abuja, Tuesday, adding that the commission has started working on an initiative that would enable private instructors, universities and polytechnics to train data protection officers.

The National Commissioner said “There is a deficit of manpower in these areas and in an area like data protection, we need a minimum of 500,000 data protection officers.

“The certified ones in the country are not more than 10,000, hence the dire need for experts in the area to bridge the skills gap.”

Gentechnews had earlier reported that on January 8, that the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), in a circular, directed heads of polytechnics and mono-technics to unbundle the higher national diploma (HND) in computer science into four specialised areas.

Olatunji explained that there is an urgent need to consider existing curriculums to reflect change in line with best practices for global competitiveness, adding that the move by NBTE is a step towards a necessary change in developing data protection officers for the service of the country.

“There is an urgent need to bridge the gap and address the deficit of manpower in the sector,” the NDPC boss added.