Author: Platform Times Newspaper

The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has defended the integrity of the Board and its staff amid backlash over the mass failure recorded during the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), particularly in Lagos and the South-East. Speaking on Wednesday in Abuja during a high-level stakeholders’ meeting involving chief external examiners, civil society groups, and representatives from tertiary institutions, Oloyede clarified that the poor performance in the affected regions stemmed from human error—not technical malfunction or ethnic sabotage as widely speculated. “What happened was a human error committed by certain individuals. It does not…

In a surprising political development, the three senators elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State have publicly declared their support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid ahead of the 2027 presidential poll. The senators—Kamarudeen Oyewumi (Osun West), Olubiyi Ajagunla (Osun Central), and Francis Fadahunsi (Osun East)—made the endorsement known through a joint statement on Wednesday, following a closed-door meeting held on Tuesday. The lawmakers cited President Tinubu’s record on governance, economic reforms, and infrastructure development as key reasons for their backing. They also praised the current administration for what they described as visible improvements…

Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, has raised concerns over the growing technological sophistication of insurgents operating in Nigeria’s North-East, warning that the Nigerian military is increasingly disadvantaged due to lack of adequate equipment. Speaking during an interview on One-on-One with Zulum, a News Central TV programme, the governor revealed that insurgents are now deploying advanced technology to combat Nigerian troops, placing additional strain on the military’s limited capabilities. “The Army doesn’t have the necessary equipment on ground to fight the insurgents,” Zulum stated. “Right now, the insurgents are using technology to fight the soldiers on ground.” He disclosed that…

A recent viral claim suggesting that a 22-year-old woman, Zainab Muhamadu, is facing the death penalty in Zamfara State for converting to Christianity has been found to be false, following an investigation by PRNigeria. The initial report, which sparked outrage across social media and among human rights advocates, alleged that Zainab was arrested and charged with apostasy in a Shari’a Court after renouncing Islam and embracing Christianity. The report linked her conversion to an NYSC member identified as Pastor Samuel, with whom she allegedly developed a spiritual connection. The claim, originally published by a national daily and amplified by several…

A chilling confessional video of Abdulrahman Bello, the prime suspect in the murder of Hafsoh Lawal, a final-year student of the Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin, was played before the Kwara State High Court on Wednesday. In the footage presented as evidence by the prosecution, Abdulrahman admitted to killing the 24-year-old for ritual purposes, stating that he needed her hands to perform money rituals. The suspect said he acted alone and regretted the act, adding that had he known another way to obtain the required items, he would not have killed her. “If I had the connection to get…

The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has announced a cash reward of N5 million for any information leading to the recapture of seven inmates who escaped from the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Ilesa, Osun State. The jailbreak, which occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, May 20, was triggered by a heavy downpour that compromised the perimeter fence of the facility, allowing the inmates to flee. The NCoS described the incident as a “force majeure” caused by the severe weather. In a statement released on Wednesday, the Service’s Public Relations Officer, Deputy Controller of Corrections Umar Abubakar, urged members of…

Daud Olatunji  Former Senator and an  Engineer, Dr. Iyiola Omisore, has charged Nigeria’s mechanical engineers to step up their role in rescuing the country’s struggling economy, stressing that without engineering-led innovation, the national budget risks becoming “a carcass of a vehicle with no wheels.” Delivering the keynote at the 15th Annual Mechanical Engineers Distinguished Lecture (MEDL) hosted by the Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers in Abuja, Omisore made a compelling case for a strategic alignment between mechanical engineering innovation and Nigeria’s economic development agenda, anchored on the 2025 national budget. Speaking on the theme “Imperative Mechanical Engineering Strategies for Socio-Economic…

Feyisayo Ogunbiyi The Ogun State Government, through its Ministry of Health, has announced plans to test over 2,000 schoolchildren for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), specifically schistosomiasis and Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STH), across the 20 Local Government Areas of the state. The initiative, which aligns with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) roadmap for the global elimination of NTDs by 2030, is also aimed at assessing the impact of previously administered medications to schoolchildren under the state’s NTD control programme. During a stakeholders’ meeting held in Abeokuta on Wednesday, the NTDs team revealed that urine and stool samples will be collected from students…

The Senate President Godswill Akpabio has announced that President Bola Tinubu has given assent to the bill to upgrade Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro to Federal University of Technology, Ilaro. Akpabio disclosed this during the Senate plenary on Wednesday. The bill sponsored by the Senator representing Ogun West, Olamilekan Adeola. This development implies that the Bill is now an Act of the National Assembly. Details later…

Senator Lawal Adamu Usman, representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District, has come down hard on a group identified as the Kaduna Central Movement for Development (KCMD) over allegations of non-performance, describing the group’s threat to mobilise against his re-election in 2027 as “laughable” and “infantile.” In a strongly worded statement issued through his Media and Publicity Office on Tuesday, the lawmaker dismissed the KCMD as a “faceless group” engaged in spreading “shameless lies,” insisting that he has redefined the political landscape of Kaduna Central with “unprecedented developments” in less than two years in office. Usman, popularly known as Senator LA, said…