Author: Platform Times Newspaper

The Ondo State Police Command has rescued two kidnapped victims and recovered ₦1.5 million suspected ransom money during an operation in the Isua-Akoko area of the state. The command also announced the arrest of three suspected kidnappers following a coordinated operation involving the police, the Ondo State Security Network Agency, popularly known as Amotekun, and members of Agbe-Koya. The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Tuesday by the command’s spokesperson, Abayomi Jimoh. According to Jimoh, the operation followed credible intelligence that suspected kidnappers hiding in a thick forest along the Ifira–Idoani axis were preparing to collect ransom from…

Zainab Abioye The Ogun State Government has recorded zero expenditure on the planned upgrade of 80 primary healthcare centres, provision of boreholes and solar power systems, and procurement of 100 ambulances, despite allocating billions of naira for the projects in the 2026 budget. The development is contained in the state’s Second Quarter 2026 Budget Implementation Report, which showed that only ₦1.01bn, representing 2.14 per cent of the ₦47.21bn allocated to primary healthcare projects, had been utilised as of June 30. The figure means that more than ₦46bn, or over 97 per cent of the primary healthcare allocation, remained unutilised at…

Grace Adeleke The 2027 governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement in Oyo State, Bimbo Adekanmbi, has denied involvement in the controversy surrounding an alleged N30bn financial discrepancy, insisting that the matter concerns the state’s local government system and not the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning where he served as commissioner. Adekanmbi, who was Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Planning under the late Governor Abiola Ajimobi, said he had no role in the meetings or processes through which the funds were allegedly mismanaged. The APM candidate made the clarification on Tuesday during an appearance on Arise News’ The Morning…

Mujeeb Akindoyin The Aheri Development Council in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State has rejected the proposed Dangote Industrial City in the Ilaje-Aheri Kingdom, declaring that the community would not accept arrangements that could turn its people into “tenants” on their ancestral land. The council, however, expressed support for the Olokola Free Trade Zone and said it welcomed Dangote Industries Limited’s renewed interest in industrial development in the area. The position followed a meeting convened by the Maporure of Aheriland, Oba Ilesanmi Raphael Ikuemonisan-Mafo, at Zion-Pepe, Ilaje. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ondo State Government and…

…Trade Fair demonstrators accuse Chinese retailers of taking customers …Ogun’s Adire producers have repeatedly protested imported Chinese imitations …From Trade Fair to Abeokuta, local traders demand protection from foreign competition Daud Olatunji A fresh dispute over the role of Chinese businesses in Nigeria’s retail sector has erupted in Lagos, with traders at the Trade Fair Complex protesting against Chinese nationals engaged in retail trading and chanting, “Chinese must go.” The development has reopened a wider debate over foreign participation in Nigeria’s domestic trading space, particularly allegations by local traders that Chinese merchants are moving beyond wholesale operations into direct retailing…

Toyyibat Qassim The Ondo State Police Command has reportedly arrested a newly appointed aide to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, Hon. Ware Ojo, popularly known as “Aruwe” or “Authority 001”, alongside his wife over alleged possession of substances suspected to be cocaine, methamphetamine, opium and other illicit drugs. The arrests reportedly took place in Oka-Akoko, Ondo State, where police operatives allegedly searched the couple’s residence and recovered suspected illicit substances estimated to be worth more than N30m. A locally fabricated firearm was also reportedly recovered during the operation. The development reportedly escalated after Ojo allegedly mobilised supporters who attacked the police station…

Daud Olatunji The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has drawn a clear line between his support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid and the electoral ambitions of All Progressives Congress governors and other APC candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections. Wike said his commitment was to mobilise support for Tinubu’s second-term bid and did not amount to an undertaking to campaign for APC candidates contesting governorship, National Assembly or State Houses of Assembly elections. The former Rivers State governor made the clarification on Tuesday through a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications…

Daud Olatunji Former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, has denied claims that his administration left behind a ₦2 billion ecological loan and other financial liabilities when he handed over power in 2014. Obi who is the presidential candidate of the Nigeria  Demicratic Congress, described the allegation as “completely false,” insisting that his administration not only cleared inherited debts and arrears but also left funds meant for specific projects untouched for the incoming administration. The former governor made the clarification in a statement posted on his LinkedIn page on Monday. According to Obi, his administration systematically addressed historical financial obligations inherited…

Former Vice-Chancellor of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Prof. Afolabi Soyode, has described the Peoples Democratic Party’s Deputy Governorship Candidate in Ogun State, Hajia Lateefat ‘Yemi Sowunmi-Kolapo, as a woman of integrity and strong principles. Soyode, who is the Life President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Abeokuta Club, spoke when Kolapo paid him a courtesy visit at his residence in Abeokuta as part of consultations ahead of the 2027 governorship election in the state. The former university don said although he last had a one-on-one interaction with Kolapo more than two decades ago, he had retained fond memories…

By Chief Abiodun Oladimeji Lasile The theme, “Building a Better Egba Ogboni: Prospects and Challenges,” is particularly important at a time when our society is confronted by declining moral values, family disputes, communal conflicts, youth restiveness, distrust of institutions and an increasing disconnection between the younger generation and the ethical foundations of our culture. The question before us is therefore not merely whether Ogboni remains relevant. The more important question is: How can Ogboni members make their relevance more visible through service, justice, peace and responsible community leadership? Tradition must not become a museum of symbols. Tradition must remain a…