The Minister of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, says the agency will train 10,000 civil servants on data management.
Tijani made this known at the DevsinGovernment programme organised for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government on Friday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the programme is tagged “Responsible Data Management in the Public Sector.”
NAN also reports that the ministry recently inaugurated a free online data management course for public servants.
Tijani said the course was to equip them with the fundamentals of ethical data management that bridged the theoretical aspects of the Nigerian Data Protection Act, 2003.
“We launched a new data management course; the idea is not to enforce or ask people to do what they have no idea of.
“The free course will start with 10,000 civil servants to equip them on effective data management.
“We live in a time when digital technology means that we are constantly collecting data and information on people; if we are careless with the data collected, we are going to put our people at risk.
“We have to enlighten people and as we continue there will be improvement on how people handle data within the country,” he said.
In his remarks, Dr Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner, Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), said data benefit the public through several key principles that sets the primary legal framework for its protection and privacy in Nigeria.
Olatunji was represented by Dr Tolulope Pius-Fadipe, Head, Research and Development of the NDPC. (NAN)
By Jessica Dogo
