The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA), Akutah Piuys Ukeyima, MON, FCILT PhD, has initiated a high-level strategic alignment with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) to aggressively strengthen data privacy, information security, and responsible governance across the nation’s port economic regulatory landscape.
Dr. Akutah formalized this push recently at the NPERA’s Abuja Liaison Office during a high-stakes executive session with the National Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the NDPC, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, who led a high-powered delegation to the newly transitioned agency.
Emphasizing the foundational role of digital assets in modern maritime logistics, the NPERA chief described a deep institutional alliance between both regulatory bodies as non-negotiable. He stressed that data now acts as the bedrock for the agency’s oversight operations, making data protection a critical national security imperative.
Dr. Akutah underscored that as NPERA expands its statutory functions, developing a sophisticated internal mastery of data privacy and cybersecurity protocols is mandatory to protect sensitive industry frameworks.
According to the CEO, an active corporate partnership with the NDPC will drastically fortify NPERA’s internal operational capacity to process high-volume digital data responsibly. Furthermore, the collaboration will mandate strict compliance with federal data protection laws, shielding Nigeria’s maritime investment pipeline from cross-border vulnerabilities.
Earlier in the session, the NDPC boss, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, lauded NPERA on its historic transition from the Nigerian Shippers’ Council to a fully empowered ports economic regulatory authority. He described the restructuring as a watershed moment in Nigeria’s maritime governance blueprint.
Olatunji emphasized that the NDPC remains fiercely committed to safeguarding personal data and enforcing rigorous data compliance benchmarks across both public institutions and private enterprises.
The high-level engagement provided a strategic launchpad for both agencies to audit mutual operational interests, focusing heavily on cyber threat mitigation, structural privacy controls, and data ethics to optimize regulatory outcomes.
This upcoming inter-agency alliance is projected to fast-track NPERA’s evolution into a highly secure, automated, and data-driven regulator. By sealing these vulnerabilities, the agency significantly fortifies its federal mandate to oversee, protect, and scale Nigeria’s multi-billion-dollar port economy.
