Author: Platform Times Newspaper

….Over 80% Of Workforce In Informal Sector Now Targeted Fairly …States To Follow Uniform Framework For Commerce Sector Taxation Daud Olatunji The Federal Government has officially prohibited the collection of taxes in cash and banned roadblocks by tax authorities nationwide, in a move aimed at modernising Nigeria’s tax administration and enforcing transparency. The Executive Secretary of the Joint Revenue Board (JRB), Mr Olusegun Adesokan, announced the new regulations during the signing of the Presumptive Tax Regulations and Guidelines on the Implementation of Tax Laws in Abuja on Tuesday. Adesokan explained that the reforms were designed to end informal, coercive, and…

Daud Olatunji A total of N783.78 million allocated for the construction of classroom blocks in three secondary schools in Ogun State between November 2024 and December 2025 has yielded no visible results, raising concerns over public fund mismanagement. According to records obtained from Tracka, a civic project monitoring platform, the allocations were as follows: N304.07 million to AKINKAS INTERBIZ LIMITED for a classroom block at Methodist High School (Junior), Arigbajo. N303.63 million to STILL EARTH LIMITED for a classroom block at St Peter’s College (Junior), Olomore. N176.08 million to STILL EARTH LIMITED for a classroom block at Abeokuta Grammar School…

Aishah Waliyullah Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State has formally parted ways politically with former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, saying while their personal relationship remains strong, they now occupy different political camps. The governor disclosed this on Tuesday in an interview with Channels Television, explaining that his decision to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) was guided by political prudence and the need to safeguard his political future ahead of the 2027 elections. “Yes, I still have a good relationship with Atiku. There’s nothing that has gone bad. It is just that everybody has taken his political ways. I…

Daud Olatunji The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested and detained five officers from the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) for allegedly accepting bribes that undermined a failed attempt to arrest former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The attempted arrest, which occurred on February 12, 2026, as El-Rufai returned from Cairo, Egypt, ended without his detention, though his international passport was seized during the incident. Muyiwa Adekeye, the former governor’s spokesperson, disclosed on X that security agents tried to detain El-Rufai without presenting a formal invitation, prompting him…

Fawaz Adebisi A Nigerian Army soldier has been detained after posting a viral video calling on governors, senators, ministers, and local government chairmen to enlist their sons in the military to fight terrorism and banditry. Lance Corporal Rotimi Olamilekan (service number 18NA/77/1009 LCPL), attached to the 81 Division Task Force Battalion in Maiduguri, Borno State, was reportedly arrested on February 11, 2026, by fellow officers and later transferred to Army Headquarters in Abuja. Sources told PLATFORM TIMES that Olamilekan was held briefly in a cell in Maiduguri before his relocation. It was further gathered that the soldier was initially denied…

The Lagos State High Court in Ikeja has ordered the remand of two senior officials of FSDH Merchant Bank Limited over an alleged multi-currency fraud totaling over N527 million. Bakare Oladimeji Surajudeen and James Olukayode Imokwede were arraigned on Tuesday before Justice Ismaila Ijelu by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ikoyi, on a 10-count charge of stealing and retention of stolen property. According to the EFCC, the charges followed an internal audit by the bank, which reportedly uncovered unauthorized debits of $306,667.81 and €50,250—equivalent to N527,406,916.66—from the bank’s Letters of Credit (LC)…

Zainab Abioye The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has raised fresh concerns over the rising toll of Lassa fever in the country, reporting 82 new infections and 20 deaths in a single week across 14 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The agency’s latest epidemiological report for week 7 of 2026 shows that cumulative fatalities from confirmed cases have reached 75, representing a case fatality rate (CFR) of 23 percent — up from 19.7 percent recorded during the same period last year. Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, and Edo states accounted for the bulk of infections, with Bauchi…

Fareedah Ogundairo The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria has suspended the Medical Director of Euracare Multispecialist Hospital, Dr Tunde Majekodunmi, alongside two other physicians, over the death of Nkanu Adichie-Esege, son of acclaimed novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The council’s investigative panel said it established a prima facie case of medical negligence in the handling of the child’s care, leading to the suspension of Majekodunmi; Dr Titus Ogundare, an anaesthesiologist; and Dr Atinuke Uwajeg, Chief Medical Officer of Atlantis Hospital. Nkanu, one of Adichie’s twins, reportedly died on January 7, 2026, following complications arising from a series of preparatory medical…

Uthman Ogunfolaji The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has issued a nationwide alert warning healthcare providers and the public against the use of specific malaria and HIV diagnostic kits over serious quality concerns flagged by the World Health Organization. In a public alert released on Tuesday, the agency said the WHO Prequalification Service (WHO-PQT) issued a Notice of Concern following the discovery of “significant violations” during an audit of the manufacturing facility of Meril Diagnostics Private Limited in India. According to NAFDAC, findings from the audit showed that the manufacturer was not operating in line with…

Fareedah Ogundairo Nigeria has witnessed a staggering 542.9 per cent increase in breast cancer cases over the past three decades, with 53,500 new diagnoses recorded in 2023 alone, a new global study has revealed. The findings, published in The Lancet and drawn from the Global Burden of Disease Study, underscore a deepening cancer crisis across Africa, where several countries now rank among those with the fastest-growing breast cancer burdens worldwide. The comprehensive analysis, which examined data from cancer registries, vital registration systems and interviews with relatives of deceased patients across 204 countries and territories, also projects a sharp rise in…