Author: Platform Times Newspaper

The management of Tai Solarin Federal University of Education (TASUED), Ijebu-Ode, has announced January 29, 2026, as the new date for its rescheduled 17th Convocation Ceremony. The university disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday by the Registrar and Secretary to Council, Mr Sunday Oladapo Oke, and addressed to students, staff and members of the public. According to the statement, the convocation, which was earlier postponed, will now hold on Thursday, January 29, 2026, with all previously announced arrangements remaining unchanged. “The University Management deeply regrets any inconvenience the earlier postponement may have caused and appreciates the patience and…

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed an appeal filed by the Independent National Electoral Commission seeking to challenge the leadership and candidacy of the Social Democratic Party, ruling that the case had become merely academic and devoid of any live issues for determination. Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Mohammed Idris, who presided over a five-member panel of the apex court, held that there was no basis to disturb the concurrent findings of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, both of which had ruled in favour of the SDP. The court declared that the appeal had lost its…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has warned state governors against frustrating the implementation of local government financial autonomy, declaring that the Federal Government would directly release council funds if states continue to defy the Supreme Court judgment on the matter. Tinubu issued the warning on Friday night while addressing the 15th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The President stressed that the Supreme Court’s ruling granting financial autonomy to local governments was final and binding, insisting that no level of government had the power to undermine the…

President Bola Tinubu has formally asked the National Assembly to approve the extension of the implementation of the 2025 Appropriation Act to March 31, 2026, in a move aimed at ending Nigeria’s long-standing problem of overlapping budget cycles and weak capital project execution. The request was conveyed in a letter dated December 18, 2025, which was read on Friday during a special plenary of the House of Representatives by the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas. In the letter, the President explained that the new communication supersedes an earlier one sent on December 16, 2025, noting that the proposed extension forms part of…

The House of Representatives has approved sweeping increases in campaign spending limits for candidates seeking elective offices in Nigeria, raising the ceiling for presidential candidates from N5bn to N10bn as part of proposed amendments to the Electoral Act 2022. The decision was taken on Thursday during plenary, following a clause-by-clause consideration of a report on proposed reforms to the nation’s electoral framework ahead of the 2027 general elections. Under the amendments approved by lawmakers, the maximum amount a presidential candidate can spend on campaigns was doubled to N10bn, while the spending limit for governorship candidates was increased from N1bn to…

A lawyer and author, Charles Omole, has alleged that powerful figures within the administration of the late former President, Muhammadu Buhari, deliberately planted stories in newspapers to shape what the former leader read and possibly how he perceived issues of governance. Omole made the claim during an interview on Channels Television while speaking on his newly released biography, From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari, which examines the former president’s leadership style and years in office between 2015 and 2023. According to Omole, Buhari’s well-known fondness for reading newspapers was exploited by influential actors within his government, whom…

… Say No To Jailing Aspirants For Buying Delegates’ Votes …Clause On Inducement Voted Down Unanimously Aishah Waliyullah The House of Representatives has rejected a proposal seeking to criminalise the inducement of delegates during party primaries, dealing a blow to efforts aimed at sanitising the internal democratic processes of political parties. The lawmakers voted down the proposal on Thursday during the clause-by-clause consideration of a report on the amendment of the Electoral Act, 2022. The controversial provision, contained in Clause 89(4) of the amendment report, sought to impose a two-year jail term, without an option of fine, on any person…

…Lawmakers Raise Alarm Over Safety …Security Fears Trail New Directive Daud Olatunji  The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to urgently review the directive withdrawing police officers attached to Very Important Persons, warning that the policy has heightened security risks for federal lawmakers and other public office holders. Akpabio made the appeal on Friday during a joint sitting of the National Assembly in Abuja, shortly after President Tinubu presented the 2026 Appropriation Bill. The Senate President recalled that Tinubu, on November 23, ordered the immediate withdrawal of police personnel attached to VIPs nationwide, directing…

Aishah Waliyullah The Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, has formally taken possession of the Professor Tamramat Iyabo Runsewe-Abiodun Social Pediatrics Complex, a state-of-the-art facility donated by the renowned pediatrician and her family to strengthen medical training, research and community health services in the institution. The complex was officially commissioned and handed over to the university at a well-attended ceremony on campus, drawing members of the university council, management, academics, medical professionals, students and other stakeholders. Speaking at the event, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Ayodeji Agboola, described the project as a major boost to OOU’s academic and healthcare infrastructure, noting that it…

The Labour Party (LP) in Ogun State has formally opened talks with a prominent Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain and convener of The Alternative Movement, Otunba Segun Showunmi, urging him to contest the 2027 governorship election on its platform. PLATFORM TIMES reports that the  move, seen as part of LP’s early realignment ahead of the next election cycle, was made public on Friday during a visit by the party’s state leadership to Showunmi’s residence in Ibara GRA, Abeokuta. Led by the Ogun State Chairman of the party, Hon. Oluwabukola Soyoye, the delegation said the state required a “new era of…