Author: Platform Times Newspaper

Stakeholders have called on religious organisations, particularly churches, to take a stronger leadership role in the fight against gender-based violence, warning that perpetrators must not be allowed to hide behind faith, family or reconciliation. The stakeholders made the call at a media roundtable, “Dialogue to Action: Advancing GBV Prevention and Organisational Sustainability,” organised by the Anglican Compassion and Development Initiative in Abuja. The Programme Officer of ACADI, Chibuike Iroegbu, said religious institutions had a responsibility to confront gender-based violence within their communities rather than treating it as a private family matter. He said the church must not become a safe…

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has declared his support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid, saying he will campaign for and vote for the President in 2027 despite growing political competition in the South-East. Umahi, who spoke on Saturday during an inspection of the 65-kilometre Afikpo-Uturu-Okigwe Federal Road in Okigwe, Imo State, questioned whether his decision to support Tinubu instead of Labour Party presidential hopeful Peter Obi amounted to an offence. The minister said, “I won’t vote for Obi but Tinubu, is that a crime?”, arguing that the Tinubu administration’s infrastructure projects across the South-East should be enough…

The management of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, has ordered an immediate investigation into a viral video showing the alleged assault of a lecturer following an accusation of attempted sexual misconduct involving a female student. The incident reportedly occurred within the university premises on Saturday, August 15, 2026, with footage of the confrontation subsequently circulating widely on social media. The lecturer, identified as being from the Department of Chinese Studies, Faculty of Arts, was allegedly assaulted amid the controversy surrounding the sexual misconduct allegation. However, the university management cautioned against drawing conclusions before the facts of the incident are…

— Accord leads in several strongholds, APC dominates pockets as results emerge from 24 LGAs Daud Olatunji The Osun State governorship election remained fiercely contested on Saturday evening as results from polling units and ward collation centres showed a tight battle between the incumbent governor and Accord Party candidate, Ademola Adeleke, and the All Progressives Congress candidate,  Bola Oyebamiji, with neither party establishing a clear statewide lead from the results monitored so far. Results obtained by PLATFORM TIMES from the situation room of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, CJID, showed a mixed pattern across the state, with Accord…

— Elderly, pregnant women, PWDs get priority as voting continues peacefully in many areas — Vote buying allegations surface in several LGAs; voters report payments of up to ₦15,000 — BVAS, ink shortages delay voting in some polling units, while high turnout recorded in others Daud Olatunji  The Osun State governorship election witnessed a mixed pattern of voting on Saturday morning, with reports of peaceful and orderly voting in several parts of the state alongside incidents of vote buying, biometric accreditation challenges, long queues, crowd control problems and isolated disagreements among voters, party agents and security personnel. As of 10:48am,…

Today on Platform Times Newspaper, 15th August, 2026. Visit www.platformtimes.com.ng for many more stories.

China imported goods worth about $2.3bn from Nigeria in the first half of 2026, representing an 80 per cent increase, the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai, has said. Dunhai disclosed this on Friday in Abuja at an international seminar on “China’s Zero-Tariff Measures and Africa’s Economic Structural Transformation,” organised by the Centre for China Studies. The ambassador attributed the surge to China’s zero-tariff policy for African countries, which took effect on May 1 and covers 53 African countries with which Beijing maintains diplomatic relations. He said Nigeria-China bilateral trade also rose to $18bn during the first half of the…

Daud Olatunji The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria has approved new fares for the 2027 pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, with intending pilgrims from the Southern Zone required to pay ₦7.89m. The commission also fixed December 2, 2026, as the final deadline for states to remit all Hajj fares, warning that there would be no extension. Under the new fare structure, pilgrims departing through the Maiduguri/Yola zone will pay ₦7.57m, while those in the Northern Zone will pay ₦7.68m. The Southern Zone has the highest fare at ₦7.89m. NAHCON announced the fares in a circular issued by its management in Abuja…

— Commission Assures Voters Of Credible Poll, Says All Results Will Be Uploaded To IReV Daud Olatunji The Independent National Electoral Commission has said it printed millions of ballot papers and result sheets within 36 hours after a court judgment compelled it to include the Social Democratic Party candidate, Francis Ajala, in Saturday’s Osun State governorship election. The commission also assured voters that results from polling units would be uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal, IReV, as voting and result processing progressed. The INEC National Commissioner supervising the Osun election, Kunle Ajayi, disclosed this on Friday during an interview…

…1.13m Stayed Away In 2022 As Turnout Crashed From 53% In 2014 To 42% In 2022 Mujeeb Akindoyin Voter apathy in Osun State has deepened over the years, with official election figures showing that the number of registered voters has continued to rise while the proportion of citizens actually participating in governorship elections has steadily declined. An analysis of voter registration and votes cast in the state’s governorship elections between 2007 and 2022 shows that turnout, after recording a modest improvement in 2014, fell sharply in 2018 and declined further in 2022. The trend has become more striking ahead of…