In line with his administration’s agenda to tackle youth unemployment by creating more jobs, the Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has initiated a partnership with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) to train youths of the state as data protection officers.
The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Olayide Adelami, disclosed this after a visit to the NDPC headquarters in Abuja on Friday.
He said the Ondo state government has designed various job creation tools to enable it stabilize the economy and deliver good governance to the people of the state.
According to him, “our government is passionate about youth development and one of the ways to ensure our youths are gainfully employed is to equip them with the right skills needed for 21st century workplace. In view of this, we have identified ICT as one key area to upskill our youths and expand their capabilities so as to be globally competitive.
“My visit here today is to meet with the team at NDPC to establish a partnership that will enable us train thousands of young graduates in Ondo state as data protection officers, realizing the enormous opportunity in this field.”
The governor commended the management and staff of NDPC, led by its national commissioner, Vincent Olatunji, for their relentless efforts and commitment to information privacy, which he said is in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
“It is exciting that by way of policy, which is the signing into law of the Nigeria data protection act 2023, the president has already opened up an incredible avenue to create thousands of jobs for Nigerians, as the law mandates many organizations, either public or private, to employ data protection officers” the governor said.
Briefing the delegation on the workings of the commission and procedure for partnership, pioneer national commissioner and CEO of NDPC, Vincent Olatunji, said there is a dearth of data protection officers in Nigeria, stressing that only 10,000 out of 500,000 available positions are currently filled.
Olatunji commended the government of Ondo state for deeming it fit to initiate the partnership, which according to him, “shows the vision of the governor. This is the fourth meeting we are having today and I must say, yours is the most important. Your excellency happens to be the second high-ranking government official to visit the commission since it was established”.
He said the move to train the youths clearly portrayed the governor of Ondo state as a man with the right team and vision. While congratulating Adelami on his appointment as deputy governor of Ondo state, Olatunji described the deputy governor as a political player with uncommon humility and credibility.
John Paul Akinduro,
Spokesperson to Ondo State Deputy Governor
March 23, 2024
