Author: Platform Times Newspaper

The leadership of the Lagos State Council of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has been thrown into fresh crisis as its State Delegates’ Conference collapsed in disarray on Tuesday following allegations of government meddling in the electoral process. The election, convened to usher in new executive members of the Lagos TUC, was abruptly halted after delegates accused the state government of attempting to impose a candidate who was not duly nominated by his own union, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN). Angry delegates stormed out of the venue after the national leadership of the TUC…

The Anambra State Police Command has arrested five suspected members of a violent armed robbery and kidnapping gang, including a former soldier who deserted the Nigerian Army. Spokesperson of the Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, noting that the suspects were apprehended following an intelligence-led operation by the Rapid Response Squad in Awkuzu on Wednesday, August 27, 2025. Ikenga said the arrests came after the abduction of a farmer at Isiagu, Awka. The victim was later released after a ransom was paid. Acting on credible intelligence, operatives stormed the gang’s hideout at Notoko, Awka, where…

…Job creation, infrastructure top agenda …FG Pledges inclusive Process With States, Private Sector The National Economic Council (NEC) on Thursday approved the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Medium-Term Development Plan (2026–2030) and endorsed fresh measures to consolidate gains in polio vaccination coverage across the country. The 151st NEC meeting, held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, was presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima. Briefing journalists after the meeting, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, explained that the new medium-term plan would serve as a bridge between the outgoing 2021–2025 national development plan and the Nigeria Agenda 2050, the…

The Federal Government on Thursday destroyed no fewer than 1,316 illegal firearms recovered from terrorists, bandits, and other criminal groups, in what authorities described as a bold step to curb the proliferation of small arms fuelling insecurity across the country. The weapons were set ablaze and later smelted at the Muhammadu Buhari Cantonment in Giri, Abuja, under the supervision of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) providing oversight. National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, who led the exercise, said the spread of illicit weapons remained…

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has faulted the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) first Permanent Voter Card (PVC) pre-registration report, describing the figures as “statistically implausible” and “suggestive of manipulation.” INEC had recently published data from its online pre-registration exercise, broken down by gender, state, occupation, and disability status. However, the ADC, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, on Thursday, alleged that the figures released by the electoral body contained glaring anomalies. Citing Osun State as an example, the party said the state reportedly recorded 393,269 new pre-registrations in just one week, far higher than…

The Oba of Benin, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II, has suspended two palace chiefs for allegedly abandoning their traditional responsibilities. A statement issued on Thursday by the Secretary of the Benin Traditional Council, Frank Irabor, announced that the Izuwako of Benin, Chief John Igiehon, and the Oyenmwensoba of Benin, Chief Aimuiukpomonyako Oghogho (popularly known as Ebengho), were relieved of their duties with immediate effect. The council explained that the chiefs had been absent from palace activities for an extended period, a development which it said hindered their obligations to the throne. “The public is hereby advised to be…

The Federal Government on Thursday warned that Nigeria is battling a “triple burden” of malnutrition, with millions of citizens suffering from undernutrition, overnutrition, and severe micronutrient deficiencies. Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Daju Kachollom, disclosed this in Abuja at the Nigeria Health Watch Roundtable, themed “Fortifying Nigeria’s Future: Strengthening Nutrition through Local Solutions.” Represented by the Director of Nutrition, Ladidi Bako-Aiyegbusi, Ms Kachollom said the country’s worsening food crisis had left children, adolescent girls, and pregnant women most vulnerable. “Micronutrient deficiencies impair cognitive development, reduce productivity, and increase maternal and child mortality,” she said. Citing the 2024…

The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Bayo Ojulari, has declared that the oil firm will not bow to “attacks and short-term pressures” from those resisting ongoing reforms in the company. Ojulari, who spoke in Abuja on Thursday while receiving a delegation of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) led by its president, Festus Osifo, said the company was determined to pursue far-reaching changes that would benefit Nigerians despite opposition. “We are under attack, but we will not budge to short-term pressure. Change comes with a price, and this…

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, has dismissed speculations that he is nursing any political ambition ahead of the 2027 general elections, insisting that his focus is on mobilising Nigerians to end what he described as the reign of “oppressors.” El-Rufai spoke in Kaduna on Wednesday while receiving defectors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) into the African Democratic Congress (ADC). “I am not contesting for anything. I don’t want to go to the Senate, and I am not contesting for any position,” the former governor declared. “But that’s why I am calling on you, let us join hands and…

The Federal Government has dismissed claims that it entered into any binding agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), saying the documents being circulated are mere proposals. Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, made this known in Abuja on Thursday while responding to questions on the union’s ongoing nationwide protest. Alausa stressed that contrary to public perception, no enforceable pact exists between the government and ASUU, noting that what has been tagged an “agreement” was only a draft still under review. “We are committed to solving this problem once and for all. What has lingered since the 2009…