Author: Platform Times Newspaper

The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed for second reading a bill seeking to make voting compulsory for all eligible Nigerian citizens in national and state elections. Sponsored by the Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen, and Daniel Ago, the bill proposes amendments to the Electoral Act 2022, aimed at tackling the persistent problem of voter apathy during elections. Leading the debate on the floor of the House, Mr Ago described the bill as a strategic move to strengthen Nigeria’s democratic culture. He said the country had recorded worryingly low voter turnout in recent elections, citing the 2023 general elections…

The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has condemned the decision of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to reschedule the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for candidates affected by technical glitches, particularly in the South-East region. The condemnation follows the recent admission by the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, that widespread technical errors marred the conduct of the 2025 UTME, especially in the five South-East states and Lagos. Addressing journalists on Wednesday, Prof. Oloyede apologised to Nigerians and disclosed that 379,997 candidates across 157 examination centres would be required to retake the examination. “As Registrar of JAMB, I…

A grieving father has blamed an admitted technical glitch by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for the tragic suicide of his 19-year-old daughter, Faith Opesusi Timileyin, who reportedly ingested rat poison after receiving a score of 146 in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). Mr. Opesusi Oluwafemi, speaking on Thursday, said the devastating score crushed his daughter’s hopes of studying Microbiology and pushed her into a spiral of despair. He claimed Faith had performed exceptionally in the previous year’s UTME and had high expectations for this year’s result. “My daughter scored very high in last year’s JAMB…

A 34-year-old man, Femi James, was on Thursday ordered to be remanded in a correctional facility by an Iyaganku Magistrates’ Court in Ibadan, Oyo State, over allegations of raping three sisters and another woman. The court, presided over by Magistrate Adebola Adeola, declined to take James’ plea on the grounds of lack of jurisdiction. She directed that the case file be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for legal advice and adjourned the case till June 19 for mention. James, whose residential address was not disclosed, is facing a charge of rape, an offence said to have been…

Tension has escalated in Ondo State following revelations that two individuals delivering ransom for the release of a kidnapped All Progressives Congress (APC) ward chairman were also abducted, with the kidnappers now demanding an additional N30 million. The abducted politician, Nelson Adepoyigi, who serves as the Chairman of Ward 5 in Ose Local Government Area, was kidnapped on Monday at the entrance to his farm along the Ifon-Owo road. Sources within the family, speaking anonymously, disclosed that after initial negotiations, the abductors had agreed to release Mr Adepoyigi in exchange for N5 million and food items. However, after two volunteers…

Dozens of members of the National Caterers Association of Nigeria, mostly women from across the country, staged a peaceful protest at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abeokuta on Thursday, alleging they were sidelined from catering contracts for the National Sports Festival, tagged “Gateway Games 2025,” scheduled to begin Friday. The protesters, who gathered barely 24 hours to the commencement of the event, claimed they were initially enlisted by the Local Organising Committee (LOC) to handle meal preparations for athletes and officials but were later abandoned without notice. Addressing journalists during the protest, the National President of the association, Francisca Ojo,…

The Lagos State University, University of Ilorin, and Fountain University have rallied behind the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oloyede, in the wake of technical setbacks that marred the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). The institutions, in separate statements, lauded Prof. Oloyede’s transparency, courage, and accountability after he admitted to technical and human errors that compromised the results of 379,997 candidates across five states, including Lagos and several in the South-East. At a widely covered press briefing held on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, Prof. Oloyede took full responsibility for the errors, refusing to…

The Lagos State Government has raised concerns over the growing trend of civil servants absconding after being sponsored for overseas training. The Commissioner for Establishments and Training, Afolabi Ayantayo, on Tuesday disclosed that 30 per cent of state-sponsored beneficiaries do not return to the country upon completion of their programmes. Ayantayo made the revelation during the ongoing annual Ministerial Press Briefing held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, Ikeja. The briefing is part of activities marking the second year in office of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s second term. The commissioner lamented that although the government remains committed to human capital…

Feyisayo Ogunbiyi  The Nigeria Customs Service and community leaders in Ogun State have dismissed as false and baseless a viral report claiming that 28 people died after consuming poisoned rice allegedly cursed by a smuggler whose goods were seized at the Seme border. In the past week, audio and video messages have circulated on social media, alleging that a suspected rice smuggler resorted to spiritual means to place a deadly curse on bags of rice confiscated by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). The viral content claimed that the supposed spiritual attack led to the deaths of unsuspecting consumers, including a…

The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, has disclosed that the United Kingdom processes approximately 1,500 visa applications daily from Nigerian nationals. Montgomery made the revelation on Wednesday during the UK-Nigeria Economic Growth and Sustainability Summit held in Abuja. He also used the platform to urge Nigerian applicants to be wary of visa-related fraud and to adhere strictly to official application procedures. “We continue to receive a high volume of visa applications from Nigeria — around 1,500 each day,” Montgomery stated. “This is a testament to the strong people-to-people connections between the UK and Nigeria, built on decades of…