By Adedapo Adesanya

Former presidential candidates, Mr Peter Obi and Mr Atiku Abubakar, have expressed deep concerns over the rising frequency of petrol tanker explosions in Nigeria.

Both statesmen raised the worry following another tragic incident in Enugu that claimed 18 lives just a week after a similar explosion in Niger State killed nearly 100 people.

In a statement, Mr Obi described the recurring accidents as alarming, with at least three reported cases in the month of January 2025 alone, leading to significant loss of lives and property.

He emphasized the urgent need to prioritize safety by fixing Nigeria’s deteriorating roads, enforcing strict road safety measures, and educating citizens on protocols around accident scenes.

“My heart goes out to the families who have lost loved ones and the people of Enugu State over this terrible incident. May God grant eternal rest to the departed and quick healing to the injured,” Mr Obi said.

He also urged relevant authorities to take immediate action to prevent further tragedies, stressing that the safety and security of lives and property must remain paramount.

Similarly, former Vice President Atiku said the frequent petrol tanker explosions in the country have reached an emergency level and urged the government to establish an inquiry into the menace.

“Oh dear, not again! My thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of all the victims. May their souls find eternal rest. The incidents of tragic tanker explosions have reached emergency levels. It is time for the government to establish an inquiry into this issue,” Mr Atiku tweeted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Accidents involving fuel tanker trucks have become common in Nigeria, which authorities blame on bad roads and reckless driving, often with dozens of fatalities.

According to Mr Olusegun Ogungbemide, spokesperson of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), 10 people were rescued with different degrees of injuries and another three were unharmed, at the Enugu incident.

“Unfortunately, the remaining 18 victims were burnt beyond recognition,” said Mr Ogungbemide.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) will soon roll out an improved multi-purpose biometric identity card to facilitate interventions.

The Director General of NIMC, Mrs Abisoye Coker-Odusote, disclosed this at a media briefing on an improved NIN card in Abuja at the weekend, noting that the move is in collaboration with the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS).

Mrs Coker-Odusote said the new card programme aims to address multiple use cases of federal government and private sector interventions and is also targeted at addressing social and economic issues in the country, with the payment functionalities and identity as a foundation.

According to her, “The key features of this card, are the biometric, based on the fingerprint, which is the only one that is currently unique; the card has a long validity period because it’s also fully KYC enabled; it has an offline and online capability, which means in locations where there are limited access to internet, this card will still work and be used for those services that it’s designed to achieve.

“And you can meet out cash, digital tokens, wallet, and email and it also has some banking details inside the chip that enables the holder to perform every other thing that can be done with an ENV-enabled card.

“On the back, the card provides additional functionalities which enable Nigerians and those who are going to have access to it to be able to prove their identity at any point in time they are called to do that.”

The NIMC CEO further explained that the new multi-tasking card also facilitates the inclusion of citizens in the social and economic activities in the country.

She noted that the second programme of the card called the Government of People card (G2P) addresses the current need for the government and its agencies, and even private sectors, to be able to identify people who are providing such services in a very secure and verifiable manner.

This is expected to take care of challenges in terms of identifying the people who participate in government intervention programmes.

On the cost of issuance, she assured that the card would be made available to Nigerians at affordable cost, adding that the newly designed biometric card is designed to uplift 133 million Nigerians out of poverty and provide seamless services.

Providing an overview of the project, the Director of the Card Management team, Mr Peter Iwegbu, said in terms of benefit to the citizens, the card will provide instant evidential identification; it’s a 3-in-1 card, access to government services, self-identification of yourself, and access to financial transactions.

The card also provides the opportunity to track people identify them and verify them without having to wait for any electronic devices.

By Adedapo Adesanya

A pan-African initiative to support African health-tech startups to commercialise and scale their offerings, Investing in Innovation Africa (i3), has opened applications for its third cohort.

The initiative is funded by the Gates Foundation, with backing from MSD, Cencora, Endless Foundation, HELP  Logistics–a subsidiary of the Kühne Foundation, Sanofi’s Global Health Unit and Chemonics.

The organisation will offer select startups three critical resources to prepare themselves for expansion: flexible grants, introductions to potential customers and tailored counsel to close partnership deals.

According to a statement, 15 leading startups will be selected for this cohort including 10 early-stage startups innovating in healthcare delivery or product distribution and five growth-stage startups building the future of pharmacy care.

Early-stage startups will receive a $50,000 grant and growth-stage startups will receive a $225,000 grant to unlock major partnerships that can expand patient access across the continent.

For startups in the cohort,  i3 aims to facilitate at least 150 relationships with key healthcare organizations, worth at least $30M,  which will expand patient access while creating valuable local jobs.

Entries for the 3rd cohort are open until February 28 after which the selected startups will be announced on April 30.

Launched in 2022, i3 has empowered 60 African health innovators across 16  countries, exceeding expectations with 43 per cent women-led and 20 per cent Francophone-led ventures.

The programme since then has provided $3 million in direct grants, and facilitated 450 strategic connections, resulting in over $11 million in contracted partnerships, expanded reach, and nearly 1,000 jobs created—half of which were held by women. i3 is coordinated by Salient Advisory and Solina Center for Research and Development  (SCIDaR).

Speaking on this, Dr Uchenna Igbokwe, CEO, SCIDaR “With the right resources, African-led companies can scale commercially while reaching underserved communities and creating jobs. The i3 program has proved, in just two years, that an actively engaged network of leading global health institutions and  partners can power African innovators to solve critical African problems in healthcare.”

On his part, Mr Oghenetega Iortim, CEO of Figorr, a company that provides end-to-end supply chain tracking technology and an i3 alumni, said, “We partnered with the Nigerian government to track over 200M health products. Through i3 we met with major global customers who were excited to find ways to expand  Figorr’s impact both in Nigeria and beyond. We’re grateful to i3 for opening these doors.”

According to the statement, a virtual Q&A  session will be hosted by i3 on February 21 to answer any questions regarding the application process. CcHUB and Villgro Africa will spearhead cohort selection, alongside a distinguished panel of African experts.