Author: Platform Times Newspaper

Daud Olatunji The Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni, has honoured three prominent Nigerians — Professor Is-haq Oloyede, Professor Muhib Opeloye and Alhaji Kunle Sanni — for their contributions to national development and the advancement of Islam in Nigeria. The recognition, according to a statement issued by the Sultan’s Media Team on Friday, followed a review of the careers and accomplishments of the three men, particularly their contributions to education, public service, interfaith relations and the development of the Muslim community. The statement, signed by Prince Bashir…

Zainab Abioye Former President Goodluck Jonathan has warned Nigerian politicians against justifying electoral misconduct by simply describing their actions as “politics”, stressing that election contests must be conducted within established rules. Jonathan spoke on Thursday in Abuja while delivering a goodwill message at a public lecture organised to mark the 80th birthday of former Attorney-General of the Federation and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Kanu Agabi. The former president said political competition, like a football match, was governed by rules which all participants were expected to respect. He maintained that the pursuit of electoral victory could not legitimise actions that violated…

Ayomide Awe The 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory generated a combined N5.15tn in internally generated revenue in 2025, the National Bureau of Statistics has said. The NBS disclosed this in its 2025 Internally Generated Revenue at State Level Report, released on Thursday. According to the report, the N5.15tn generated in 2025 represented a 40.93 per cent increase from the N3.65tn recorded by the states and the FCT in 2024. Lagos remained the highest revenue-generating jurisdiction, with N1.769tn, accounting for about 34 per cent of the combined IGR. The state’s collection increased from N1.26tn in 2024,…

Toyyibat Qasim The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has dismantled an alleged Nigerian-Mexican drug cartel operating a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Eziama community, Obeagu, Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State. The agency also arrested two men it identified as alleged kingpins of the operation, following months of intelligence gathering and surveillance by its Special Operations Unit. The suspects are Chukwu Obumneme Christopher, 45, popularly known as Brown, and Chukwu Georginus Monday, 60, alias George. According to the NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, the two suspects allegedly operated the laboratory in collaboration with Rodriguez Villanueva, whom the agency described as a…

Mujeeb Akindoyin Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, has acknowledged that Nigeria’s N70,000 national minimum wage can no longer adequately cushion workers against the mounting economic pressures in the country. Keyamo’s position came amid renewed pressure from organised labour and public-sector workers for an upward review of wages, with the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council, Trade Union Side, demanding urgent measures to ease the worsening cost-of-living crisis. Speaking at the 2026 National Pre-Retirement Summit organised by XEM Consultants Limited in Abuja on Thursday, the minister said the purchasing power of workers had been weakened by prevailing…

…Anaba urges media to uphold credibility, accuracy, independence The President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Eze Anaba, has charged editors across the country to protect the credibility of the electoral process and strengthen public confidence in Nigeria’s democracy ahead of the 2027 general elections. Anaba made the call in his welcome address at the 22nd Annual All Nigerian Editors Conference held in Enugu, with the theme, “The Ballot, the Media and the Task of Keeping Democracy Alive.” He said the media had a critical responsibility to ensure that citizens received credible and accurate information necessary to make informed electoral…

…Police probe alleged syndicate targeting vulnerable youths as Kogi monarch raises fresh alarm Daud Olatunji For 22-year-old Samuel Ezekiel, the promise sounded like a way out of poverty. A message offering quick money and describing the procedure as a simple medical exercise allegedly set in motion a chain of events that ended with Ezekiel undergoing an operation in Abuja. According to the Nigeria Police Force, Ezekiel was allegedly lured from Nasarawa State to Abuja on April 24, 2026, where one of his kidneys was allegedly removed. Police said he was allegedly paid $1,250, equivalent to about N1.7m at the exchange…

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has said he bears no hatred or resentment towards former associates, friends and family members who have chosen to remain silent or distance themselves from him amid his current circumstances. El-Rufai, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, made the disclosure in a statement titled “My Relationships and the Aftermath”, which he published on his X handle on Wednesday. The former governor said recent experiences had compelled him to reflect on some of his relationships, particularly the responses of people he had previously supported when circumstances were difficult. According to him, his support…

• Projects to create over 50,000 direct jobs, boost exports — President Daud Olatunji President Bola Tinubu has unveiled an investment package of more than $7bn for the development of the proposed Gateway Deep Seaport and the Ogun State Blue Marine Special Economic Zone, saying the projects will reposition the state as a major maritime and industrial hub in West Africa. The President spoke on Thursday in Paris, France, during the signing of Memoranda of Understanding between the Ogun State Government and DP World, a global ports and logistics company, for the development of the projects. Tinubu said the agreements…

By Dave Agboola Nations are often remembered through the leaders they elect. Just as often, however, they are shaped by the entrepreneurs they produce. The story of modern Nigeria cannot be told without its great business builders. Aliko Dangote redefined industrial production. Tony Elumelu transformed banking and democratized entrepreneurship. Femi Otedola expanded his influence in energy while elevating the culture of strategic philanthropy. Among them stands Mike Adenuga Jr., one of the most consequential yet least understood figures in Nigeria’s economic history. Known as both the “Gentle Giant” and “The Bull,” Adenuga has spent more than four decades reshaping Nigeria’s…