News
National Assembly to Review National Data Protection Act
Sen. Afolabi Salisu, the Chairman, Senate Committee on ICT and Cyber Security, has said efforts were ongoing to review the National Data Protection Act (2023) to meet emerging threats associated with technological advancement.
Salisu disclosed this on Tuesday at the opening of a three-day workshop, on Data Protection Awareness Promotion organised for the Joint National Assembly Committee on ICT by Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) and Ampersand Development Partners.
He said that since the enactment of the Act in 2023, there have been new developments such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the United Nations Convention on Cyber Crimes.
The lawmaker said that there is a nexus between data governance and cyber crimes hence the need to look at the Act and strengthen the handshakes where necessary.
According to him, we need to ensure the security of our country, particularly in the cyber space and our data governance as well as technology advancement like AI.
“As legislators, we need to have knowledge on data privacy and protection for us to be able to effectively legislate in that area.
“You cannot legislate in an area that you are not sufficiently knowledgeable in; this workshop affords us the opportunity to build our capacity to understand modern principles of data protection and to be in position to review the National Data Protection Act
“It has been three years down the line, how has this law addressed the need of the nation, particularly given the emerging technologies and how it compares with other other countries.
“At the end of this exercise, we would be able to come up with a roadmap, a timeline, with a view to review the National Data Protection Act,” he said.
The lawmaker tasked all Nigerians on private data protection saying that it is the duty of all citizens to ensure safety of their data.
He said that many free public WiFi and Apps are not always free as users pay with their data and adverts without knowing it.
Also speaking, the Chairman, House Committee on ICT and Cyber Security, Rep. Stanley Olajide (APC- Oyo) said that data is gold and Nigeria’s next prosperity was not going to be oil but data.
He said that no investor would bring foreign funds or capital into Nigeria, without making sure that the right data protection law is in place, which Nigeria has.
“Whatever data that we have is our sovereign wealth, is something that belongs to us. How do we protect it? We have to make sure that the right legal frameworks are put in place, so that those data, once bridged, you can actually hold entities, corporation, the countries responsible when they’ breach your data law.
“In the U.S., they have their data law; if you put anything in their cloud, is owned by the United States. So we also have to have something here.
“Anything that resides here in Nigeria and is generated here must be home and protected by our country; so we are put in the right laws and framework in place just to do that,” he said.
Union Bank of Nigeria has secured certification under the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) version 4.0.1, a global standard for protecting payment card data.
The certification took effect on August 11, 2026, confirming that the bank’s systems for storing, processing and transmitting customers’ credit and debit card information meet stringent international security requirements.
PCI DSS certification is designed to reduce the risk of payment card data breaches and financial fraud while strengthening customer confidence in electronic payment systems.
The assessment covered key areas of Union Bank’s operations, including network infrastructure, card issuance, ATM and POS transactions, payment processing, reconciliation, settlement, chargebacks, dispute resolution and retail banking.
Union Bank was assessed and certified under the Service Provider category.
The certification process lasted a full year and involved quarterly assessments, with support from departmental, business and functional heads across the bank. Digital security firm Digital Encode supported the process, while the final independent audit was conducted by CyberCube, an accredited Qualified Security Assessor.
Yetunde B. Oni, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank, said the certification demonstrates the bank’s commitment to protecting customer information.
“The security of our customers’ information is central to everything we do at Union Bank. This certification reaffirms that our payment systems and processes meet a rigorous global standard, and it reflects the discipline of colleagues across the Bank who work every day to keep customer data safe.”
The renewal also ensures that Union Bank maintains continuous PCI DSS certification, in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s requirement for banks to sustain compliance without interruption.
New data from CFA Society Nigeria is reshaping how the country’s financial sector thinks about talent development, with Access emerging as the single largest source of CFA candidates in Nigeria, distinction industry watchers say signals a deeper shift in how leading institutions are building investment expertise from within.
In its Where Nigeria’s Finance Professionals Work series, published in a national daily, CFA Society Nigeria placed Access first among employers of CFA candidates nationwide, with 82 candidates enrolled in the programme, more than double the 38 recorded at the next-placed institution and well ahead of every other bank or financial services firm on the list.
Access also ranked second among employers of CFA charterholders, with 11 professionals who have completed all three levels of the Programme and met its experience and ethics requirements.
For an industry that has long measured itself by balance sheet size and branch count, the rankings point to a different kind of competition: one over who is building the deepest bench of certified, globally credentialed talent.
CFA Society Nigeria compiled the data from its Salesforce Membership Database as at June 2026, and described the exercise as a way of recognising employers whose people “bring rigour, integrity and global best practices into the workplace every day.”
Analysts following the sector say the outcome is notable less for the ranking itself than for what it suggests about talent strategy across Africa’s financial services industry. A single institution developing more aspiring charterholders than the rest of the market combined raises the floor for professional standards nationally, not just within one balance sheet.
Every candidate who advances through the CFA Programme adds to a shared pool of ethics-trained, analytically rigorous professionals that Nigeria’s capital markets, pension funds and asset managers all eventually draw from.
Access Holdings Group Chief Executive Officer Innocent C. Ike, commenting on the rankings, framed the achievement in terms of institution-building rather than recruitment: “Every candidate on that list represents our commitment to building institutions and professionals that endure.”
The remark echoes a broader thesis increasingly voiced by market observers, that talent depth, not scale alone, is what will determine which African financial institutions earn lasting global credibility.
That distinction sits at the centre of Access’s stated ambition to become the World’s Most Respected African Financial Services Group. If the CFA numbers are any indication, the Group’s route to that goal runs less through square metres of branch network and more through the calibre of the people sitting inside it, a bet that Nigeria’s finance professionals, and the institutions that will one day hire them, are already placing alongside Access.
Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has announced plans to introduce Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) baggage tracking technology across domestic and international airport terminals to tackle the growing problem of delayed, misrouted and missing luggages
Michael Achimugu, director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, NCAA, disclosed this at a stakeholder engagement forum in Lagos.
Achimugu said the RFID-enabled system would replace the traditional barcode-based baggage tracking framework and provide airlines and passengers with real-time visibility of checked luggage from check-in to final collection.
According to him, the technology would improve baggage traceability, reduce mishandling and strengthen accountability across the baggage-handling chain.
Unlike conventional barcode systems, RFID technology allows baggage to be automatically scanned at multiple points without requiring direct line of sight, enabling real-time tracking of luggage throughout its journey.
Achimugu said issues involving short-landed, missing, lost or damaged baggage had remained among the major complaints from air travellers, alongside flight delays.
He said the introduction of RFID technology was therefore aimed at improving baggage-handling standards and restoring passenger confidence in the aviation sector.
The NCAA said the initiative also aligns with IATA Resolution 753, which requires airlines to track baggage at key points during the passenger journey.
The authority expects the technology to provide more accurate information on the location of luggage, facilitate quicker resolution of baggage-related complaints and improve the overall passenger experience.
The NCAA said the initiative would also strengthen accountability among airlines and other stakeholders involved in baggage handling at Nigerian airports.
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