Author: Platform Times Newspaper

The Chaplain of the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, and Pastor of Mount Zion Christian Faith Assembly, Tony Ogbebor, has urged Christians to focus on their divine purpose rather than the pursuit of material wealth. Ogbebor gave the charge during the 27th Annual August Reunion and Retreat Programme of the church, held at the hospital chapel in Aro, Abeokuta. This year’s event, which had the theme “The Planting of the Lord,” drew participants from across Nigeria, the West African sub-region, as well as members joining online from Europe and America. Speaking with PLATFORM TIMES, the cleric explained that the three-day retreat…

The Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, has disclosed that Nigeria’s Excess Crude Account (ECA) currently stands at $535,823.39 as of August 2025. Ogunjimi made the disclosure on Thursday in Abuja while presenting the nation’s financial updates at the 151st National Economic Council (NEC) meeting presided over by Vice-President Kashim Shettima. Created in 2004 under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the ECA was designed to save oil earnings above the annual budget benchmark as a buffer against global crude price volatility. Speaking through the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, Ogunjimi explained that aside from the ECA, the Stabilisation Account now…

Swiss building materials giant, Holcim Group, has formally exited Nigeria after completing the sale of its majority stake in Lafarge Africa Plc to Chinese cement producer, Huaxin Cement Ltd. Holcim confirmed on Friday that it had divested its 83.81 per cent shareholding in Lafarge Africa in a transaction worth $1 billion on a 100 per cent equity basis, before dividend adjustments. The move comes eight months after the company first announced plans to pull out of Nigeria and hand over its operations to Huaxin, one of China’s biggest building materials manufacturers currently expanding its footprint across Africa. Holcim’s regional head…

Human rights activist, Deji Adeyanju, has declared that if faced with a choice between President Bola Tinubu and former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, in the 2027 general elections, he would cast his vote for Tinubu. Adeyanju, who spoke on a Channels Television programme on Friday, said his preference was not borne out of allegiance to the ruling All Progressives Congress, but because of what he described as the intolerance of Obi’s supporters. “Why would somebody like me support the APC? Support the APC for what? But if the opposition presents Peter Obi, I will vote for Tinubu,” he said.…

A fresh crisis is rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State as party leaders and stakeholders are sharply divided over which local government should produce the party’s candidate for the Ijebu North/Ijebu East/Ogun Waterside Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives ahead of the 2027 general elections. The current lawmaker, Hon. Joseph Adegbesan, who was elected in 2023, is said to be eyeing a return bid. But growing opposition is mounting against his re-election on grounds of alleged poor performance and fears that his continued stay will further marginalise other local…

Troops of the Nigerian Army have rescued seven kidnapped passengers and arrested nine suspected terrorist informants during a series of operations across Zamfara, Katsina, and Sokoto States. A top military source confirmed the development to the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday, noting that the raids were conducted under Operation FANSAN YAMMA, the ongoing offensive against terrorists and bandits in the North-West. In Katsina State, troops of the 17 Brigade responded to a distress call along the Sheme–Funtua highway, where terrorists had blocked the road with two trucks and abducted travellers. Soldiers engaged the gunmen in a fierce shootout, forcing…

A popular Nigerian comedian, Odey Mathias, widely known as General Odey, has recounted his harrowing 50-day ordeal in the custody of kidnappers, who collected a total ransom of ₦8 million before releasing him. Odey, who shared his experience on The Morning Brief programme on Channels Television on Thursday, said he was abducted on April 18, 2025, alongside 23 others while traveling to Calabar through the Oron/Uyo waterways. According to him, armed kidnappers ambushed their boat, opened fire, and forced them onto another vessel before ferrying them to an unknown creek community. “It was a very horrible experience, an unimaginable one…

The leadership of the Lagos State Council of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has been thrown into fresh crisis as its State Delegates’ Conference collapsed in disarray on Tuesday following allegations of government meddling in the electoral process. The election, convened to usher in new executive members of the Lagos TUC, was abruptly halted after delegates accused the state government of attempting to impose a candidate who was not duly nominated by his own union, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN). Angry delegates stormed out of the venue after the national leadership of the TUC…

The Anambra State Police Command has arrested five suspected members of a violent armed robbery and kidnapping gang, including a former soldier who deserted the Nigerian Army. Spokesperson of the Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, noting that the suspects were apprehended following an intelligence-led operation by the Rapid Response Squad in Awkuzu on Wednesday, August 27, 2025. Ikenga said the arrests came after the abduction of a farmer at Isiagu, Awka. The victim was later released after a ransom was paid. Acting on credible intelligence, operatives stormed the gang’s hideout at Notoko, Awka, where…

…Job creation, infrastructure top agenda …FG Pledges inclusive Process With States, Private Sector The National Economic Council (NEC) on Thursday approved the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Medium-Term Development Plan (2026–2030) and endorsed fresh measures to consolidate gains in polio vaccination coverage across the country. The 151st NEC meeting, held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, was presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima. Briefing journalists after the meeting, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, explained that the new medium-term plan would serve as a bridge between the outgoing 2021–2025 national development plan and the Nigeria Agenda 2050, the…