The Sokoto State Government (SOSG) has participated in a two-day Implementation Workshop on the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDP Act) 2023 and the Nigeria Data Protection Act General Application and Implementation Directive (GAID) 2025, organised for state governments at the Nigerian Army Conference Centre and Suites, Abuja.
The state’s delegation was led by the Commissioner for Innovation and Digital Economy, Hon. Bashar Umar Kwabo, alongside the Commissioner for Science and Technology, Hon. Prof. Attahiru Ahmad Sifawa (FHSN), and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Nasir Daniya, mni, who attended as the state’s Data Controller.
The workshop, held on August 19 and 20, 2026, was organised by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) Academy and Leadership Centre in collaboration with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), under the theme “Strengthening Data Protection Across Nigeria: Driving Compliance, Building Trust, Safeguarding Citizens’ Data.”
Speaking at the event, the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Nadungu Gagare, said effective data protection was critical to the nation’s digital transformation and economic development, noting that digital infrastructure alone would not be enough to build a thriving digital economy without a secure and privacy-compliant environment.
Also speaking, the Director-General of the NGF, Dr Abdulateef Shittu, said states were indispensable to building a credible and coherent national data protection regime.
Dr Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner/CEO of the NDPC, delivered the keynote address, disclosing that Nigeria now has more than 10,000 certified data protection officers, with over 27,000 people working within the country’s privacy ecosystem, compared with fewer than 1,000 three years ago.
In his remarks, the Governor of Kano State, Abba Kabir Yusuf, represented by his deputy, Murtala Sule Garo, said effective data protection was essential to building citizens’ confidence in government and driving digital transformation, noting that state governments handled large volumes of sensitive information through education, healthcare, taxation, employment and social protection, among other services.
As part of efforts to drive compliance at the subnational level, the NDPC and NGF disclosed that a States Implementation Framework has been drafted, alongside translations of the NDP Act 2023 into Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba to broaden accessibility and understanding of the law across the country.
Delegates were taken through sessions on foundational data protection concepts, legal bases and principles for data processing, the mandate of Data Protection Officers (DPOs) in government institutions, standard data management guidelines for subnationals, vendor and third-party risk management in public procurement, and technical and organisational measures for safeguarding data. The workshop closed with reflections, action planning and a certificate presentation for participating states.
In Sokoto State, the Ministry of Innovation and Digital Economy (MIDE) has been mandated to drive implementation of the NDP Act, working alongside the Office of the Head of Service, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry for Local Government & Chieftaincy Affairs, the Ministry of Budget & Economic Planning, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Basic & Secondary Education, the Ministry of Science and Technology and other critical MDAs, as well as all 23 Local Government Areas in the state.
The event was attended by representatives of State Government across the Federation, including Head of Services, Attorney’s-General and Commissioners for Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
20-08-2026
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