Uber, a ride-hailing service, has calmed riders’ concerns over a data-sharing arrangement with the Lagos government.
The company discloses this through the Country Manager of Uber Nigeria, Tope Akinwunmi.
The ride-hailing company stated that it is working with the government to exchange data as previously promised after some of its drivers lately faced problems with the State’s control over the data-sharing arrangement.
However, this has caused riders to become concerned, believing that their data, shared by Uber and other ride-hailing services, could be used by the government to watch them.
The Nigerian e-hailing business may be subject to a driver boycott as it requests a three-month extension to fulfil its 2001 data-sharing deal with the Lagos State Government.
According to trustworthy individuals with knowledge of the situation, Uber met behind closed doors with Oluwaseun Osiyemi, the Commissioner of Transportation, and the Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transporters of Nigeria in Lagos where the company asked for a three-month extension to complete its duties.
Commenting on the development, Akinwunmi said: “We do the right thing with data and maintain the value of personal data for Uber and our users by handling data as users expect and in line with applicable data protection laws and global best practices.”
In an official statement, Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation Oluwaseun Osiyemi clarified the problem it was having with Uber.
He said that every e-hailing platform in the state, except Uber, signed a data-sharing agreement with the government on their own, to improve the safety and security of e-hailing services in the state.
We earlier reported that Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, expressed interest in a win-win partnership between Mastercard and the state government in the areas of technology, digitalization, and innovation.
