Author: Platform Times Newspaper

The United States government has temporarily halted the processing of green card and citizenship applications filed by Nigerians and nationals of several other countries newly affected by President Donald Trump’s expanded travel ban, a report by CBS News has revealed. The latest move, which deepens Washington’s sweeping clampdown on legal immigration, affects thousands of would-be immigrants from Africa and Asia, many of whom are already living legally in the United States and seeking to adjust their status or become American citizens. According to the report, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has extended an earlier directive freezing all immigration…

Troops of the Nigerian Army’s 3 Division, operating under Operation Enduring Peace, have arrested a suspected gunrunner and recovered a cache of arms and ammunition during coordinated security operations in Bokkos and Mangu Local Government Areas of Plateau State. The operations, carried out on Thursday, December 18, 2025, were part of sustained efforts by the military to flush out illicit weapons and criminal elements ahead of the Christmas and New Year celebrations within the Joint Operations Area. In the first operation, troops, working in collaboration with operatives of the Department of State Services, raided a suspected criminal hideout at Gwender…

The Federal Ministry of Steel Development has suspended 58 workers of the National Metallurgical Development Centre, NMDC, Jos, Plateau State, following weeks of protests that have crippled operations at the agency. The suspension, conveyed in an internal memo titled “Notice of Suspension”, was signed by the Director of Human Resource Management, Mrs Ijeoma Idika, on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, and addressed to the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Centre. According to the memo, the affected staff were identified as having direct involvement in actions that allegedly contravened provisions of the Public Service Rules, specifically PSR 100301 (n)…

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has recounted how the death of his father, a police officer who died in active service, plunged his family into hardship and compelled him to hawk soft drinks on the streets of Lagos as a teenager. The governor made the emotional disclosure on Thursday while delivering the Convocation Lecture at the 7th Convocation Ceremony of Mountain Top University, Ibafo, Ogun State. Eno said the tragedy marked a turning point in his life, forcing him to support his mother financially despite being a senior student and a prefect at Victory High School at the…

The management of Tai Solarin Federal University of Education (TASUED), Ijebu-Ode, has announced January 29, 2026, as the new date for its rescheduled 17th Convocation Ceremony. The university disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday by the Registrar and Secretary to Council, Mr Sunday Oladapo Oke, and addressed to students, staff and members of the public. According to the statement, the convocation, which was earlier postponed, will now hold on Thursday, January 29, 2026, with all previously announced arrangements remaining unchanged. “The University Management deeply regrets any inconvenience the earlier postponement may have caused and appreciates the patience and…

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed an appeal filed by the Independent National Electoral Commission seeking to challenge the leadership and candidacy of the Social Democratic Party, ruling that the case had become merely academic and devoid of any live issues for determination. Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Mohammed Idris, who presided over a five-member panel of the apex court, held that there was no basis to disturb the concurrent findings of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, both of which had ruled in favour of the SDP. The court declared that the appeal had lost its…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has warned state governors against frustrating the implementation of local government financial autonomy, declaring that the Federal Government would directly release council funds if states continue to defy the Supreme Court judgment on the matter. Tinubu issued the warning on Friday night while addressing the 15th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The President stressed that the Supreme Court’s ruling granting financial autonomy to local governments was final and binding, insisting that no level of government had the power to undermine the…

President Bola Tinubu has formally asked the National Assembly to approve the extension of the implementation of the 2025 Appropriation Act to March 31, 2026, in a move aimed at ending Nigeria’s long-standing problem of overlapping budget cycles and weak capital project execution. The request was conveyed in a letter dated December 18, 2025, which was read on Friday during a special plenary of the House of Representatives by the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas. In the letter, the President explained that the new communication supersedes an earlier one sent on December 16, 2025, noting that the proposed extension forms part of…

The House of Representatives has approved sweeping increases in campaign spending limits for candidates seeking elective offices in Nigeria, raising the ceiling for presidential candidates from N5bn to N10bn as part of proposed amendments to the Electoral Act 2022. The decision was taken on Thursday during plenary, following a clause-by-clause consideration of a report on proposed reforms to the nation’s electoral framework ahead of the 2027 general elections. Under the amendments approved by lawmakers, the maximum amount a presidential candidate can spend on campaigns was doubled to N10bn, while the spending limit for governorship candidates was increased from N1bn to…

A lawyer and author, Charles Omole, has alleged that powerful figures within the administration of the late former President, Muhammadu Buhari, deliberately planted stories in newspapers to shape what the former leader read and possibly how he perceived issues of governance. Omole made the claim during an interview on Channels Television while speaking on his newly released biography, From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari, which examines the former president’s leadership style and years in office between 2015 and 2023. According to Omole, Buhari’s well-known fondness for reading newspapers was exploited by influential actors within his government, whom…