Author: Platform Times Newspaper

President Bola Tinubu has urged Nigerian universities to live up to expectations as vanguards of research, teaching and community service to improve human life and fast-track national development. Mr Tinubu made the call on Saturday at the ninth convocation ceremony of the Federal University Dutsin-ma, Katsina State. Represented by the vice-chancellor of the Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa, Abdulkarim Sabo-Mohammed, the president said: “Education is a cornerstone of national development. Therefore, it must be responsive and transformative. “I urge Nigerian universities to live up to expectations as vanguard of research, teaching and community service, in line with their tripartite mandate in…

The federal government has released the withheld salaries of striking non-academic staff in federal universities. Bawa Mokwa, the director of press at the office of the accountant-general of the federation (OSGF), spoke to TheCable on Saturday. He said disbursement covers the benefits payable to retirees under the contributory pension scheme of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners. On October 28, non-teaching staff unions in federal universities began an indefinite nationwide strike over withheld salaries from 2022. The Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) are key stakeholders. Mokwa said the payment of withheld salaries has…

Kayode Egbetokun, inspector-general of police (IGP), says the fainting by some minors at the Abuja federal high court was “scripted”. On Friday, the police arraigned 76 suspects – who are mostly minors – for participating in the #EndBadGovernance protest in August. They are facing 10 counts bordering on mutiny, treason, and destruction of public property. Before they could take a plea, at least four of them collapsed. The court later granted the defendants – who looked ill and malnourished – N10 million bail each. In a statement, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, spokesperson of the police, quoted Egbetokun as saying that the police…

Muyiwa Adejobi, spokesperson of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), says individuals above seven years old can be charged in court. The force spokesperson’s comment comes in the wake of outrage over the arraignment of minors for participating in the #EndBadGovernance protest. Between August 1 and 10, the protest was held nationwide to demand a reduction in the cost of governance, the return of petrol subsidy, improved food security and fiscal discipline, among others. The protest turned violent in some parts of the country while hoodlums looted and vandalised public and private properties. After the protests, the police announced the arrest…

The outgoing Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki has said he would not want to be remembered for his many ‘fights’. Obaseki made this remark while answering questions from newsmen on Friday shortly after he commissioned the Airport road Parks and Garden. When asked how he will like to be remembered after his tenure, he said, “Certainly not for the fights” apparently referring to the many political battle he fought against his political opponents and benefactors. On his plans on sustaining the project beyond his administration, he said, “When we thought about all these public spaces and how to…

Ayodeji Akinsanya graduated from the University of Ilorin with an outstanding CGPA of 4.97/5.00, emerging as the institution’s best graduating student. A graduate from the Department of Mathematics, Ayodeji’s journey is one marked by resilience, strategic planning, and unwavering commitment to excellence. In this exclusive interview with KOREDE BADMUS, Ayodeji shares insights on the motivations and challenges that shaped his success story. Excerpts . What key factors motivated you to study mathematics? The major factor that motivated me to study mathematics was that when I was young, my dad dedicated time to teaching me math when he had issues…

The Olu of Orile Ilawo, Oba Professor Alexander Olusegun MacGregor, has formally dismissed ten chiefs in his domain, accusing them of unauthorized land sales and gross misconduct. The monarch specifically disowned three prominent chiefs – the Oluwo of Ilawo, Chief Oluwole Dosunmu; the Balogun of Ilawo, Chief Abraham Soyoye; and the Jagunna of Ilawo, Fatai Sodimu – along with seven others, alleging that their actions have undermined the community’s integrity. Addressing journalists at a press conference held in his palace, Oba MacGregor detailed a series of grievances against the dismissed chiefs, whom he accused of illegally selling community land while…

Daud Olatunji A report by the Cadre Harmonisé (CH) has projected that approximately 33.1 million Nigerians across 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will face severe food and nutrition crises between June and August 2025. The states identified as facing significant food security challenges include Ogun, Lagos, Sokoto, Zamfara, Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Gombe, Taraba, Katsina, Jigawa, Kano, Bauchi, Plateau, Kaduna, Kebbi, Niger, Benue, Cross River, Enugu, Edo, Abia, Kogi, Nasarawa, Kwara, and Rivers, along with the FCT. This prediction, revealed in the October CH analysis, highlights the growing threat to food security across large parts of the country.…

The Federal High Court has granted bail to 67 minors involved in the August 2024 #EndBadGovernance protests across Nigeria. The minors,on Thursday, all under 15 years old, were each granted bail at N10 million, with the condition that they present a surety who must be a civil servant. The bail decision comes after a total of 76 minors were arraigned for participating in the demonstrations, which swept the nation from August 1 to August 10, driven by mounting economic challenges. The minors were among hundreds detained by security forces following the protests that erupted in response to escalating inflation,…

A Chief magistrates’ court in Makurdi on Friday ordered that four farmers be remanded at the correctional centre, Makurdi, for allegedly desecrating a place of worship. The police charged Tever Ikyer, Tseyina Imbur, Tsavbee Akombu, and Orshi Atule with criminal conspiracy, trespass, defilement of a place of worship, an act of terrorism and threats to hostage-taking. However, the chief magistrate, Kelvin Mbanongun, did not take their pleas for want of jurisdiction. Mr Mbanongun adjourned the matter until December 19 for further mention. Earlier, the prosecutor, Insp Godwin Ato, told the court that a letter of complaint jointly written by elders…