Business

Uber wants to turn its millions of drivers into a sensor grid for self-driving companies

Published

6 months ago

May 2, 2026

Uber has a long-term ambition that goes well beyond shuttling passengers: the company eventually wants to outfit its human drivers’ cars with sensors to soak up real-world data for autonomous vehicle (AV) companies — and potentially other companies training AI models on physical-world scenarios.

Praveen Neppalli Naga, Uber’s chief technology officer, revealed the plan in an interview at TechCrunch’s StrictlyVC event in San Francisco on Thursday night, describing it as a natural extension of a nascent program the company announced in late January called AV Labs.

“That is the direction we want to go eventually,” Naga said of equipping human drivers’ vehicles. “But first we need to get the understanding of the sensor kits and how they all work. There are some regulations — we have to make sure every state has [clarity on] what sensors mean, and what sharing it means.”

For now, AV Labs relies on a small, dedicated fleet of sensor-equipped cars that Uber operates itself, separate from its driver network. But the ambition is clearly much larger. Uber has millions of drivers globally, and if even a fraction of those cars could be transformed into rolling data-collection platforms, the scale of what Uber could offer the AV industry would dwarf what any individual AV company could assemble on its own.

The insight driving the program, Naga said, is that the limiting factor for AV development is no longer the underlying technology. “The bottleneck is data,” he said. “[Companies like Waymo] need to go around and collect the data, collect different scenarios. You may be able to say: in San Francisco, ‘At this school intersection, I want some data at this time of day so I can train my models.’ The problem for all these companies is access to that data, because they don’t have the capital to deploy the cars and go collect all this information.”

Becoming the data layer for the entire AV ecosystem is a pretty smart play, particularly considering Uber years ago abandoned its own ambitions to build self-driving cars (a move that co-founder Travis Kalanick has publicly lamented as a big mistake). Indeed, many industry observers have wondered if, without its own self-driving cars, Uber might one day be rendered irrelevant as AVs increasingly spring up around the globe.

The company currently has partnerships with 25 AV companies — including Wayve, which operates in London — and is building what Naga described as an “AV cloud”: a library of labeled sensor data that partner companies can query and use to train their models. Partners, which Uber plans to more aggressively invest in directly, can also use the system to run their trained models in “shadow mode” against real Uber trips, simulating how an AV would have performed without actually putting one on the road.

Techcrunch event

San Francisco, CA
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October 13-15, 2026

“Our goal is not to make money out of this data,” Naga said. “We want to democratize it.”

Given the obvious commercial value of what Uber is building, that positioning may not last long. The company has already made equity investments in numerous AV players, and its ability to offer proprietary training data at scale could give it significant leverage over a sector that right now depends on Uber’s ride marketplace to reach customers.

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NDLEA Intercepts Saudi-Bound Drugs Hidden in Palm Oil Keg at Kano Airport

Published

6 hours ago

October 19, 2026

PlateauReports

BY NKECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR—The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), on Sunday said it has intercepted a Saudi Arabia-bound consignment of skunk concealed in a gallon of palm oil at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport.

It also announce search of a shipment at the Apapa port in Lagos uncovered 8,725 kilograms of powdered tramadol worth over N6.98 billion in street value.

The agency also seized thousands of kilograms of cannabis and large quantities of opioids in Lagos, Edo, Ondo, Bauchi, Kano and Kaduna states, arresting dozens of suspects, including an 85-year-old grandmother.

At the Kano airport, NDLEA officers on Friday 16th October 2026 intercepted a female passenger, Fatimah Ahmad, with a gallon of palm oil containing parcels of cannabis weighing 511.75 grams during the outward clearance of an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, via Addis Ababa. Fatimah told operatives the gallon was given to her by her cousin, Abubakar Yahaya, who was promptly arrested at the airport car park.
Following a joint examination with the Customs Service and other agencies at the APM terminals in Apapa, Lagos, NDLEA operatives on 2nd October uncovered a large shipment of powered tramadol from India, declared as maize starch. A confirmatory test at the NDLEA forensic laboratory showed the cargo to be tramadol hydrochloride powder. When it was separated from its concealment on Wednesday 14th October, it came to 349 bags with a gross weight of 8,725kg, worth over N6.98 billion.
In a separate operation at the Tincan port in Lagos on Monday 12th October, NDLEA officers in the course of a joint examination of a container with Customs and others, discovered 55kg of Canadian Loud worth N165 million. The drugs were packed in brown cartons and hidden inside a Toyota Sienna vehicle conveyed in the 40-foot container.
Elsewhere in Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday 14th October, raided Idumota market where they arrested Elizabeth Chidera Kalu, and recovered 10,600 ampoules of diazepam injection and 6,500 tablets of Molly from her store. The following day, Thursday 15th October, two 35-year-old men were arrested in the Mushin area of the state: Idowu Daudu, with 59.95kg of skunk, and Ahmed Oniyinde, with 61.23kg of same substance.
In another interdiction operation in Lagos, operatives acting on credible intelligence on Thursday 15th October intercepted a truck coming from Trade Fair market with illicit drug consignments along Iyana Oba. Two suspects: Tajudeen Adeduntan, the loading manager and his assistant, Azeez Sikiru.
A search of the truck led to the recovery of 18,000 pills of tramadol 250mg, concealed in cartons labelled as Rambo insecticide.
In Edo, NDLEA operatives raided Warake, Ivhiaro and Ewe/Irue communities in Owan East LGA between 15th and 16th October, arresting six suspects. They include 85-year-old Grace Ehimeka, arrested with 179kg of skunk at Warake; Ayo Aigberadion, 53, with 220.8kg at Ewe/Irue; Ali Garba, 57, with 5.852kg; Habib Braimoh, 45, with 100 grams; Musa Mubid, 35, with 2kg of cannabis, cannabis seeds, tramadol, Swinol and diazepam; and Hope Okoro, 35, with 237 grams of loud.
Acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives on Saturday 17th October raided a cannabis farm in Okemoro Isinbode camp forest, Ondo State, and destroyed 7,500kg skunk on three hectares. Five suspects were arrested: Asikpo Ekpeyoung, 43; Solomon Okpani, 22; Ubong Friday, 35; Joseph Friday, 22; and Ekenimi Seth, 35. Exhibits recovered included 92 bags of skunk weighing 1,267kg, 11kg of cannabis seeds and 3kg of fresh stems, a total of 1, 281 kilograms. In Owo area of the state, operatives on Friday 16th October, trailed 53-year-old Okunebe Ndidi to his hideout in Ameyinti where they recovered 25 bags of cannabis weighing 375kg.
Not less than 894,800 pills of tramadol capsules and exol-5 tablets were recovered from
Shamsu Garba, 35, at Ragwam village, Katagum LGA, Bauchi state when NDLEA officers intercepted his Volkswagen Golf wagon car on Wednesday 14th October. The same day, operatives on patrol along the Bauchi-Gombe road recovered 291 blocks of cannabis weighing 265kg from an abandoned car at Tudun Natsira village.
In Kano, two suspects, Ali Abdullahi, 38, and Ibrahim Adamu, 23, were arrested on Tuesday 13th October, along the Zaria-Kano road, with 30,100 tablets of tramadol 225mg seized, while a 54-year-old Murtala Dayyabu was arrested at Niger Street, Malan Kato, with 100,000 tablets of Exol-5 on Wednesday 14th October.
A raid by NDLEA operatives at Kayimi village, Kaduna state led to the arrest of Mohammed Sani, 48, Zaharadeen Shafiu, 29, and Yakubu Abdullahi, 20, with 496.5kg of cannabis. In a separate raid at Food Palace, Ali Akilu Road, Kaduna, John Ayo David, 39, was arrested with 49,500 tablets of tramadol 225mg, while a 42-year-old suspect, Odo Jonas Ejike was arrested with 29,500 capsules of tramadol at Utako area of Abuja on Saturday 17th October.
With the same vigour, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week. These include: WADA enlightenment lecture to students and staff of Nawar-Ur-Deen High School, Ogboro, Oyo state; Elf Junior Secondary School, Bojude, Gombe; Cherubim and Seraphim Primary School, Ikorodu Lagos; Harmony Secondary School, Lokoja, Kogi; Government Secondary School, Ikot Ansa, Calabar, Cross River; Rivers State College of Health Science and Management Technology, Port Harcourt; Mesh International School, Benin City, Edo; and Abu Hanifa Academy, Kano Municipal, Kano state, among others.
While commending the officers and men of Apapa, Tincan, MAKIA, Lagos, Edo, Bauchi, Ondo, Kano, and FCT Commands for their professionalism and intelligence-driven approach to the various successful operations, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) urged them and their colleagues across the country to sustain the onslaught against drug trafficking networks, while continuing with the current balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.

The post NDLEA Intercepts Saudi-Bound Drugs Hidden in Palm Oil Keg at Kano Airport appeared first on Business Today NG.

Business

Finance Ministry faults claim that FG’s interest payments hit 124% of revenue

Published

14 hours ago

October 18, 2026

PlateauReports

The Federal Ministry of Finance has disputed a claim that the Federal Government’s interest payments reached 124 per cent of its revenue in the first half of 2026, describing the figure as misleading.

The ministry said recent analysis and public commentary, which cited the World Bank’s October 2026 Nigeria Development Update, compared mismatched interest figures against an incomplete revenue base.

In a statement released on Sunday, the ministry said the 124 per cent interest calculation includes the debt serviced by the federal government on behalf of other tiers of government, including external loans to states.

“Measuring this against federal revenue alone overstates the ratio, which is only meaningful when debt and revenue cover the same level of government,” the statement said.

The ministry also asserted that the reported revenue is incomplete as it excludes the independent revenue earned by government agencies and enterprises but not yet remitted to the treasury.

“In addition, more revenue is typically earned in the second half of the year than in the first due to the statutory timing of certain payments. This is why the ratio stood at 156% in H1 2025, while the full-year 2025 debt service-to-revenue ratio was below 60%, down from 97% before the reforms,” it stated.

The ministry explained that federal revenue rose by 72 per cent from ₦3.6 trillion in the first half of 2025 to ₦6.2 trillion in the corresponding period of 2026.

Interest payments, however, rose by 38 per cent, from ₦5.6 trillion to ₦7.7 trillion over the same period, according to the ministry.

“The interest-to-revenue ratio fell by 32 percentage points in a single year, from 156% to 124%, and the gap between interest and revenue narrowed from ₦2.0 trillion to ₦1.5 trillion,” the ministry said.

The ministry attributed the changes to the current administration’s economic reforms, arguing that revenue is growing faster than interest costs.

It argued that a six-month figure alone should not be used to evaluate the sustainability of government debt.

“Debt sustainability is assessed on a full-year basis, not over six months,” the statement said.

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Citing the World Bank report, the ministry said Nigeria’s full-year 2026 debt service, covering both interest and principal, is projected at 46 per cent of revenue, and that this forecast is the appropriate benchmark for assessing the country’s debt-service burden.

The ministry noted that all borrowing falls within the limits approved by the National Assembly under the 2026 Appropriation Act and the approved borrowing plan, in compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 and the Debt Management Office (Establishment) Act 2003.

“We encourage analysts and commentators to apply the same rigour they seek to hold the government to: compare like with like, read figures in context, and seek clarification where the data is unclear,” the ministry said.