Author: Platform Times Newspaper

The planned defection of Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress has collapsed following a disagreement over the control of party structures in the state. Findings by Platform Times indicate that negotiations between the governor’s camp and the APC leadership broke down after the ruling party rejected a proposed 60–40 power-sharing formula. The formula, reportedly tabled by Mohammed’s loyalists, sought to grant the governor’s faction majority control of the party structure in Bauchi, from the ward to the state level, in the event of his defection. However, the APC leadership declined the…

Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force in Anambra State have arrested a suspected impersonator posing as a coordinator of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board. The suspect, identified as Eric Nwombu, was apprehended on April 14 by officers attached to the Inspector-General of Police Safe School Initiative. The state Police Public Relations Officer, Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed the development in a statement on Saturday, noting that the suspect was arrested for alleged criminal impersonation and unlawful possession of examination materials. Ikenga said the arrest followed a report that the suspect had been collecting 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination slips from unsuspecting…

Fresh cracks have emerged within the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2027 general elections, as governorship aspirants across several states kick against what they describe as attempts to impose preferred candidates under the guise of consensus. The development comes as the Independent National Electoral Commission prepares political parties for primaries scheduled between April 23 and May 30, 2026. Investigations  indicate that the ruling party is increasingly adopting consensus arrangements in selecting candidates, a move that has triggered protests, quiet resistance and fears of defections in key states. Growing resistance In Nasarawa State, divisions have deepened following Governor Abdullahi Sule’s…

Operatives of the Ogun State Police Command have arrested a 43-year-old man, identified as Idowu Ashafa, for allegedly being in possession of human parts suspected to be meant for ritual purposes. The suspect was apprehended in the early hours of Friday in Igbesa area of the state during a routine patrol by officers attached to the division. The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday, noting that the arrest was carried out by a patrol team led by the Divisional Police Officer, CSP Solotan K. Owolabi. Babaseyi said the suspect…

Suspected bandits have abducted a traditional ruler, his wife and another resident during a midnight attack on Olayinka community in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State. The assailants, reportedly heavily armed, stormed the palace of Oba Salman Aweda at about 1:40 a.m. on Saturday, firing gunshots to scare residents before whisking away the monarch and two others to an unknown destination. Sources in the community said the operation, which lasted a few minutes, left residents in panic as no one could confront the attackers. “It happened around 1 a.m. His wife and another person were also taken. The monarch…

The Egba Economic Summit has called for closer monitoring of budget implementation and renewed cultural and economic initiatives to accelerate development in Egbaland. The resolutions were reached during the group’s 2026 second quarter general meeting held on Saturday in Abeokuta, Ogun State. The meeting, presided over by the President of the Summit, Dr Gbenga Adeoye, took place at a private venue in Ibara GRA and brought together key members of the think tank focused on the socio-economic advancement of Egbaland. In his welcome address, Adeoye commended members for their commitment and sacrifices towards the development of the Egba people. He…

Babcock University has announced plans to host a two-day Innovation Ventures Summit aimed at galvanising stakeholders across sectors and unveiling an ambitious blueprint to position Nigeria as a global technology hub. The summit, scheduled for April 21 and 22 on the university campus, is expected to bring together government officials, corporate leaders, academics, investors, and innovators to deliberate on the future of technology, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation in the country. At the centre of the event is a proposal to establish a world-class innovation hub within the institution—an initiative the university described as critical to driving Nigeria’s competitiveness in…

… Seeks police action over impersonation claim A Senior Special Assistant to the Ogun State Governor on Housing, Oluwatobi Doregos, has disowned a viral social media post that allegedly circulated a list of senatorial candidates for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State, insisting that the publication was false and not authorised by him. The controversial post had purportedly congratulated  deputy governor of the state, Engr. Noimot Salako-Oyedele, Governor Dapo Abiodun, and former governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, as senatorial candidates for Ogun West, Ogun East and  Ogun Central respectively. The message, which spread widely across social media platforms,…

Nearly N30bn in pension contributions belonging to Nigerian workers has remained uncredited to their Retirement Savings Accounts, raising fresh concerns over weak compliance and data management within the contributory pension scheme. Findings showed that the backlog, put at N29.84bn by the National Pension Commission (PenCom), stems largely from employers’ failure to remit contributions promptly, alongside widespread documentation errors and inconsistencies in employees’ records. The affected funds are currently held by Pension Fund Administrators pending proper reconciliation and allocation to beneficiaries’ accounts. Breakdown of the figures indicated that Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers accounts for the largest share of the uncredited funds…

….Lagos Records Lowest Allocation a At 5.3% …None Of Six States Meets 26% Allocation Target … Concerns Mount Over Impact On Schools, Learning Daud Olatunji All six South-West states have failed to meet the recommended benchmark for education funding in their 2026 budgets, raising fresh concerns over the region’s commitment to the sector. An analysis of the approved budgets of Lagos State, Ogun State, Oyo State, Ekiti State, Osun State and Ondo State showed that none allocated up to the 26 per cent benchmark prescribed in the Federal Ministry of Education’s National Policy on Education. Findings indicated that education allocations…