News
Africa’s Mbira Chat Strategizes to Compete with Rival Messaging Apps

The creators of ride-sharing app Afri Ride will soon bring to market multi-purpose chat service, as an independent app.
Named after the family of musical instruments traditional to the Shona people in Zimbabwe, Mbira is a communication tool that can be used as a social media platform to communicate with friends and family through text, video and voice calls.
It has been a key feature of Afri Ride, having been integrated into the app service to allow users to communicate with each other to vet and iron out travel details before and after payment.
Come the end of March, the chat platform will also be downloadable from the App Store and Google Play Store, confirmed Joe Moyo, group CEO of The Think Tech Team – the Pan-African tech company that produced Afri Ride.
After Afri Ride and Afri Wallet, Mbira is another service the organisation is pleased to offer, says Moyo. “Although we started as Afri Ride, we have developed into a tech company, and are busy with a range of businesses, by Africans, in Africa, for Africans.
“It (Mbira) will continue to be accessible on the ride-sharing app – a light version which will have text, video call, voice call and live location-sharing.”
According to Moyo, the “need for a chat platform with a tailored payment system and an independent chat platform with no privacy or data violation gave us the motivation to make it into an independent chat platform”.
In recent weeks, WhatsApp’s updated privacy policy sparked public outcry, after Android and iOS users received an in-app notification about its new policy, which allows WhatsApp to share certain data with Facebook – an option that users previously had a chance to opt out of.
Users of the Facebook-owned popular messaging app were initially given a deadline of 8 February 2021 to accept the updated terms of service in order to continue using WhatsApp, which has about two billion active users globally.
The new terms led to scores of frustrated users across the globe boycotting WhatsApp, moving to rival messaging apps Telegram and Signal.
However, last week, the messaging and voice over IP service announced the extension of its privacy policy to 15 May 2021, noting this will allow WhatsApp more time to inform users about the new policy.
Moyo points to Mbira’s privacy policy as the differentiating factor when compared to rival chatting services.
“The privacy policy in place secures all the user’s information and grants no access to such information to third-parties,” he says.
“The app has an exciting live video option, which will allow users to create live videos that they can share with all their contacts, or simply select which circle they wish to share this live video with. For example, a tutor can create a ‘student circle’ in their lifestyle section and post live videos which only the contacts included in the student circle will have access to.
“We have included all the features of any premier chat app and employ end-to-end encryption. However, unlike other apps on the market, we do not collect anybody’s information, except for what is needed for account management. There are no cookies, and no ‘booby traps’ on our platform.”
Making sure the app is up to international standards is of paramount importance, and ultimately, Mbira is a lifestyle for people to showcase their unique experience, notes Moyo. “The app features a section titled ‘lifestyle’ to encourage users to share their creativity with others by way of posting multiple visuals with all their contacts or just their selected circle of people.”
In terms of future additions, Moyo says a wallet system will be introduced that will enable peer-to-peer money transfer to contacts.
Furthermore, links to online stores will also be included, which will enable users to purchase virtual gifts and physical gifts for their contacts on the app.
“Users will have the ability to make payments on the app. Within the first half of this year, not only will users of the app be able to send money to each other, in-app prepaid purchases will be enabled as well,” he concludes.
News
EFCC: Accusations Against Our Chairman Are Baseless and Misleading

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has strongly denied allegations of lack of integrity and transparency directed at its chairman, Ola Olukoyede, by columnist Steve Osuji.
In a statement issued by Dele Oyewale, spokesperson, EFCC. the commission described the claims as “worrisome and unjustifiable,” particularly criticizing the personal attacks on Olukoyede.
“More worrisome was his attack on Olukoyede for no justifiable reason. Allegations of lack of transparency, accountability and integrity deficit are wild and clearly off the mark,” Oyewale said.
He questioned the basis for the allegations and defended Olukoyede’s leadership since taking office.
“The question is: in what way has Olukoyede fallen short? Is it by insisting that the right things should always be done? By moving the nation’s anti-graft war forward radically and unprecedentedly?
“By bringing forth a preventive framework to tackle corruption and reaping bountiful gains for the nation?
“By recovering the globally-acclaimed 753 duplexes and other apartments, which are proceeds of fraudulent dealings for the nation?
“By launching the EFCC into a global map of accomplished anti-graft agencies? By handling 50,000 case files in one year?
“By embarking on a courageous internal cleansing system and other progressive initiatives to deepen and strengthen the anti-corruption fight?
“It is cowardly and uncharitable for any columnist to hide under vague and opaque cover to splash mud on Ola Olukoyede, arguably one of the finest breed of anti-graft czars around the world.”
Olukoyede, through the statement, reaffirmed that the EFCC has consistently submitted its annual reports to the National Assembly as required by law.
“Equally preposterous are claims of re-looting of assets by officers of the Commission. For the purpose of clarification, the Commission does not recover monetary assets into its covers and the non-monetary assets that are recovered are disposed of following clear pronouncements by court and proceeds paid into the Confiscated and Forfeited Properties Account account in the Central Bank in line with provisions of the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act, 2022.
“The EFCC does not operate in secrecy. All its operations are regularly communicated to the public, including public auction of assets. To deliberately cast the Commission in the mould of fraudulent engagements or criminality is not only mischievous but also untenable,” the statement concluded.
News
IHS Nigeria, UNICEF Donate Oxygen Plant to Bridge Health Gap in River State

IHS Nigeria and its implementing partner, the United Nations Child Education Fund (UNICEF) has expressed satisfaction that the Oxygen Plant recently donated to Rivers State is helping to bridge the health Gap in the state and its environs.
This observation was made recently when officials from IHS Nigeria and UNICEF, carried out a project inspection visit to the plant located at the General Hospital in Eleme, Rivers State.
During the handing over of the oxygen plant to the Rivers State Government in 2024, the facility was reported to have a production capacity of 123 oxygen cylinders and 720,000 litres of oxygen every 24 hours.
The plant was built under a Public-Private Partnership involving UNICEF, the Canadian Government, IHS Nigeria, in partnership with the Rivers State Ministry of Health through the State Hospital Management Board.
Speaking during the visit to the facility yesterday, the Director of Sustainability at IHS Nigeria, Titilope Oguntuga, noted that the oxygen plant has saved lives and is helping to bridge health gaps in the eight other states where similar plants are located.
She further explained that the visit reflects the organisation’s commitment “not only to create opportunities for impact but to also continue supporting the healthcare industry by carrying out such interventions that directly impact individuals and saves lives. This plant is one of the nine oxygen plants we have built across the federation,” she said.
“We are particularly excited that it is helping to bridge health gaps—not just in Rivers State and its environs, but in all the states where the plants are currently located.”
Oguntuga informed that in terms of sustainability “we focus our intervention sustainability on four pillars; ethics and governance, education and economic growth, environment and climate change and finally, people and communities”.
She added that “the visit to the Rivers State oxygen plant is to have an assessment of how well the plant is functioning, the impact it is currently making and to generally understand how the operation is going”.
On his part, Chief of UNICEF Field Office, Port Harcourt, Dr Anslem Audu, stated that the plant has been very functional and useful to the people of Rivers State. According to him, “During the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of patients needed oxygen and oxygen was not available. So many children will come down with pneumonia and it will become an emergency, they will need oxygen, but oxygen is not available in the hospital. But with this plant now available no child will die because of lack of oxygen in the hospital. The era of lack of oxygen is no longer there.
Audu added that “You can practically visit any of the hospitals in Port Harcourt and find out that they have oxygen and the product is from this plant all thanks to IHS Nigeria, the Canadian Government and UNICEF”.
The UNICEF field officer, who confirmed that the plant is functioning optimally, said it is producing enough oxygen for the state’s needs.
In his words, “The partnership between these three organizations and the Ministry of Health in Rivers State has really worked, and we are reaping the benefits of the partnership.
He urged the implementing partners, especially the government, to also invest in the sustainability of the facility by providing a source of electricity for the plant to be more functional.
Earlier, the Medical Director Eleme General Hospital, Dr Leechi-Okere Clarabelle, noted that since the day of the unveiling, the plant has been functioning very well. Commenting on impact he noted that “We’ve had success stories whereby oxygen is distributed to public hospitals in the state, including the two teaching hospitals in the state and then we have also extended distribution to some private hospitals within the state.
“We have two hubs that serve as storage and distribution points because of the location of the plant. We produce here and store somewhere in Port Harcourt so that people who come from a far distance can get oxygen from these hubs.
News
JAMB Accuses Student of Securing Admission through Identity Fraud

Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has accused a 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidate of manipulating his identity and engaging in online blackmail.
Fabian Benjamin, head of public affairs, JAMB, issued a statement on the matter on Thursday.
He said one Chinedu Okeke, currently a 400-level Medicine and Surgery student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), gained admission in 2021 while claiming to be from Amuwo-Odofin, Lagos state.
JAMB said Okeke’s national identification number (NIN) records from 2021 confirm his Lagos origin.
The board stated it does not alter candidate information provided through NIN.
The board, however, said the 400-level student, who is facing potential challenges for incorrect credentials, is now claiming that it retrieved the wrong details for him from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) in 2021.
“[This] is unequivocally false, aimed at fabricating a defence for his case,” Benjamin said.
“The evidence suggests that Chinedu altered his records as filled in 2021 before registering for the 2025 UTME, a fact confirmed by even his advocates.”
The board questioned why a 400-level medical student would seek to study mechanical engineering in 2025, especially with “inconsistencies in his claims.”
JAMB alleged that Okeke “took advantage” of Lagos state’s quota in 2021, thereby obstructing the admission opportunities for other deserving candidates from the state.
It added that he then “attempted to manipulate his details with the NIMC” to unjustly claim representation from Anambra state in 2025.
The board criticised “online advocates” for “actively reaching out to Chinedu’s parents to extract emotional narratives rather than factual clarifications, neglecting to seek information directly from the university.”
JAMB affirmed its commitment to maintaining accurate records and preventing candidates from exploiting loopholes.
It warned that if UNN confirms any inconsistencies, it would notify the Medical and Dental Council to consider delisting Okeke.
“When a nation trivialises illegalities, it breeds a future fraught with potential criminality,” Benjamin’s statement concluded.
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