Author: Platform Times Newspaper

… Warns Against ‘Imposed Consensus’, Calls For Resistance Daud Olatunji A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State, Otunba Segun Showunmi, has criticised the emergence of Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi,as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Ogun State in the coming election, warning that the development signals a dangerous drift towards state capture in the state. Adeola was announced on Monday evening ny the state governor, Dapo Abiodun during the party state caucus meeting as the consensus governorship candidate of the APC for 2027 election. Showunmi, in a statement titled “From…

As the Federal University of Technology, Ilaro, Igun State, prepares to hold its 23rd convocation ceremony on Wednesday, the institution has announced that no fewer than 233 students benefited from a N32m disbursement under the Nigerian Education Loan Fund for the current academic session. The Acting Vice-Chancellor, Dr Mikhail Akinde, disclosed this on Monday during a media chat held on the campus to herald the convocation, describing the intervention as a lifeline that enabled many students to complete their academic programmes. Akinde said the loan scheme, introduced by the President Bola Tinubu administration, had significantly reduced the financial burden on…

A fresh political tension is brewing within the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as youth groups and aspirants from the South-West have announced a seven-day protest tagged “Occupy INEC South-West Protest” over the alleged delisting of the party’s national leadership from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal. The mobilisation comes amid growing concerns within the party that its leadership crisis could undermine its scheduled national convention slated for Tuesday, April 14, in Abuja, the same day a court is expected to deliver judgment on the dispute surrounding the party’s national chairman and national secretary. Organisers of the planned demonstration warned…

Leaders of the All Progressives Congress in Ogun State, including Governor Dapo Abiodun and three former governors, on Monday adopted the Senator representing Ogun West, Solomon Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, as the party’s consensus governorship candidate for the 2027 election. The decision was reached at a high-level strategic caucus meeting held at the APC secretariat in Abeokuta, the state capital. The meeting, which lasted about two hours, was attended by prominent stakeholders, including former governors Olusegun Osoba, Ibikunle Amosun and Gbenga Daniel, alongside other governorship aspirants such as Iyabo Obasanjo, Gboyega Isiaka, Tunde Lemo and Isiak Akinlade. Announcing the…

Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, on Monday told a United Kingdom court that her lifestyle while in office was funded through official channels and not proceeds of bribery. Testifying before Southwark Crown Court, the ex-minister denied allegations that she solicited or received illicit payments, insisting that all expenses incurred on her behalf in London were tied to her official duties and reimbursed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company. “I can state categorically that at no point did I ask for, take or receive a bribe of any sort… I always sought to act impartially,” she told the court.…

…Faults CEOs’ Guarantees As Weak Security …Slams Unsecured Loans, Insider Connivance The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has warned Nigerian banks to desist from granting loans without verifiable collateral, describing the practice as a major driver of insider abuse and rising non-performing loans in the financial system. Olukoyede issued the warning during a courtesy visit by the Chief Audit Executive of First Bank Plc, Mufutau Abiola, and his delegation to the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the commission in Ikoyi. Represented by the Acting Zonal Director, Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, Bawa Kaltungo, the EFCC…

The Kaduna State High Court on Monday adjourned ruling on the bail application of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, till Tuesday, following the amendment of charges by the prosecution. At the resumed hearing, the court read the amended charges to the defendant and took his plea. The prosecution also dropped one of the earlier co-defendants, leaving El-Rufai as the sole defendant in the case. Counsel to the defendant, Ubong Akpan, told journalists after the proceedings that the session was largely centred on the revised charges, which the defence would require time to study ahead of substantive hearing. He…

The Ebenezer Grammar School Abeokuta Old Students Association has called on the Ogun State Government to urgently address security lapses, teacher shortage and infrastructural gaps at the institution as it prepares to mark its 70th anniversary. The alumni body made the appeal on Monday during a press conference held at the school’s Fujah Hall in Iberekodo, Abeokuta, where it unveiled activities lined up for the anniversary celebration scheduled for May 29 to 31. Speaking on behalf of the association, its National Chairman, Engr. Tajudeen Olori, said the school was currently without any government-employed security personnel following the retirement of the…

…Say Exclusion Threatens Equity, Unity Urge Parties To Field Muslim Candidates A coalition of Muslim organisations in the South-West, under the aegis of Southwest Muslims for Good Governance, has renewed calls for equitable religious representation in political leadership, demanding that political parties field a Muslim candidate for the Ogun State governorship election in 2027. The demand was made on Monday during a joint press conference held in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, where the groups declared that the continued exclusion of Muslims from the state’s top political office was unjust and unacceptable. The coalition, which includes the Muslim Rights…

…Warn Of Religious Crisis, Demand Immediate Reversal Daud Olatunji The League of Imams and Alfas has faulted the Ogun State Government’s proposed plan to return public schools to missionary organisations, warning that the move could trigger religious tension and undermine decades of peaceful coexistence. In a strongly worded rejoinder signed by its Secretary-General, Imam Tajudeen Mustafa Adewunmi, the group described the policy as ill-advised, provocative and unjustifiable, insisting that it threatens the principles of equity, justice and religious balance in the state. The state governor, Dapo Abiodun had earlier promised   on behalf of the state government to handover some state…