Author: Platform Times Newspaper

Nigeria will expend a staggering ₦15.81 trillion on servicing public debt in the 2026 fiscal year, underscoring mounting fiscal pressures in the country’s record ₦68.32 trillion budget. The spending plan, recently approved by the National Assembly and signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, allocates a significant portion of total expenditure to debt obligations, raising fresh concerns over the sustainability of the nation’s public finances. Analysis by civic tech organisation BudgIT revealed that debt servicing ranks among the largest expenditure components, nearly rivaling allocations for capital and recurrent spending. A breakdown of the budget shows that ₦32.29 trillion is…

The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party deepened on Thursday as the party’s Board of Trustees, led by former Senate President, Adolphus Wabara, formally assumed control of its national leadership following a damning Supreme Court judgment that nullified its last national convention. The apex court, in a split 3-2 decision, invalidated the PDP convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, in November 2025, which produced the Tanimu Turaki-led National Working Committee backed by Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde. In a statement issued in Abuja, Wabara said the BoT’s takeover was in line with Section 32(5) of the party’s constitution, aimed at…

Abeokuta-based transport operator, Akmode Transport Limited, has raised the alarm over an alleged plot by rival commercial motorcycle unions and suspected hoodlums to attack its personnel and disrupt its operations in Ogun State. In a statement issued on Thursday, the firm’s manager, Mustapha Tiamiyu, claimed that intelligence available to the company indicated that the planned attack would target its field staff across Abeokuta. Tiamiyu alleged that the attackers were planning to disguise themselves in uniforms resembling those of the company’s staff in a bid to implicate the firm in acts capable of breaching public peace. According to him, the alleged…

The Independent National Electoral Commission has officially recognised former Senate President, David Mark, as the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, following a decisive ruling by the Supreme Court that settled the party’s protracted leadership crisis. Checks on INEC’s official portal on Thursday confirmed that Mark has been reinstated as the party’s national chairman, alongside former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, as National Secretary. The development comes weeks after INEC, on April 1, 2026, removed the duo’s names from its website amid the lingering legal tussle over the party’s leadership. The Supreme Court, in a judgment delivered on Thursday…

…Up To Five Million Illegal Weapons Circulate in South-West — NCCSALW Daud Olatunji Security experts have raised fresh concerns over Nigeria’s worsening insecurity, blaming it on porous borders and weak control of small arms and light weapons, even as they warned that millions of illegal firearms remain in circulation, particularly in the South-West. The experts spoke on Thursday at a one-day seminar on effective post-judgment management of small arms and light weapons held in Abeokuta, Ogun State. Speaking with journalists, the South-West Zonal Director of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, retired Commissioner…

Junior golfer Malik Adams produced a sensational performance at the weekend to emerge champion of the inaugural GOLFSHOP NG Tournament, overpowering a field of more than 170 players at the Elephant Cement Golf Club in Sagamu, Ogun State. Adams, who played off a 25 handicap, delivered one of the most remarkable rounds of the competition, posting a Net 61 (10-under-par) and Gross 86 to finish six strokes clear of his closest rival in dominant fashion. His round was defined by remarkable consistency and composure, as he recorded 16 pars and two birdies on holes 4 and 8, effectively outclassing a…

The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has ordered a total and comprehensive shutdown of universities and inter-university centres nationwide from midnight of Friday, May 1, 2026, following a breakdown of negotiations with the Federal Government over long-standing welfare demands. The directive, contained in a circular issued from the JAC national secretariat in Abuja on Thursday, followed a high-level meeting between the unions and the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, alongside top officials of the education sector. Those present at…

The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has told the Federal High Court in Abuja that it is unconstitutional for Nigeria to continue to recognise political parties that have failed to win any elective positions, insisting that such parties should be deregistered in line with constitutional provisions. Fagbemi made the submission in an affidavit filed in response to a suit instituted by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which is seeking the court’s interpretation of the law and the deregistration of several political parties, including the Action Alliance (AA), African Democratic Congress (ADC),…

…Children, Pregnant Women Among Victims …Starvation, Disease Ravage Overcrowded Facility The Amnesty International has called for an urgent and independent investigation into the alleged deaths of at least 150 Fulani detainees, many of them children, at a military-supervised facility in Kwara State. In a statement issued on Thursday, the rights group alleged that about 1,500 displaced Fulani pastoralists were held for months at the National Youth Service Corps Orientation Camp in Yikpata, Edu Local Government Area, under what it described as “deplorable and life-threatening conditions.” According to Amnesty, findings from its investigation revealed severe overcrowding, poor sanitation, acute food…

Former Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, on Thursday declared support for the state Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2027 election. Ambode, in a personally signed statement, said Hamzat’s emergence as the party’s consensus candidate reflected his loyalty, consistency, and long-standing commitment to the APC. He described Hamzat as a “true party man” whose consultations across party structures demonstrated his dedication to unity and progress. “I join my fellow APC members in congratulating my brother and friend, Dr. Kadiri Obafemi Hamzat, on his emergence as the consensus governorship candidate of…