Prof. Isa Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy requested the appointment, which was approved.

The appointment is with immediate effect, according to a statement issued by the minister’s spokesperson, Uwa Suleiman, on Friday.

Olatunji was the Director of the eGovernment Development and Regulations Department at NITDA, according to the minister’s spokesman.

Olatunji is an Ekiti State native with a Ph.D. in Geography and Planning from the University of Lagos and an Advance Diploma in Computer Science, according to her.

Suleiman stated that the NDPB was established in line with global best practices and would focus on data protection and privacy for the country, among others.

The statement reads: “The successful implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a Digital Nigeria has significantly increased the adoption of data platforms and accelerated the datafication of our society.

“This has increased the importance of having an institution that focuses on data protection and privacy.

“The issuance of Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), subsidiary legislation to the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Act 2007, increased awareness about the need for data protection and privacy.

“The NDPB would be responsible for consolidating the gains of NDPR and supporting the process for the development of primary legislation for data protection and privacy.”