Author: Platform Times Newspaper

Daud Olatunji  President Bola Tinubu has formally requested the National Assembly to amend the 2024 Appropriation Act and the 2023 Finance Act to increase the budget by N6.2 trillion. This request, articulated in a letter addressed to the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, was read during the plenary session on Wednesday.  The letter, invoking section 58, subsection two of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), outlines the President’s rationale for the substantial budget increase. President Tinubu stated, “I forward herewith the above bills for consideration and passage by the Senate. “The Appropriation Act Amendment Bill 2024 seeks to amend the…

Daud Olatunji The Senate, on Wednesday, relieved Senator Mohamed Ali Ndume (Borno South) of his duties as Chief Whip.  Senate President Godswill Akpabio officiated the removal during a plenary session, putting the decision to a voice vote where members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Senate Caucus overwhelmingly endorsed the action. Following his removal, Ndume was promptly replaced by Senator Tahir Mungono (Borno North).  This decision arrives on the heels of Ndume’s recent public criticisms of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, which have stirred controversy within the ruling party. In a significant development, the national leadership of the APC has called…

Daud Olatunji  The Federal High Court on Wednesday, in Abuja reinstated Philip Shaibu as the Deputy Governor of Edo State.  Shaibu had been impeached several months prior by the Edo State House of Assembly. Presiding over the case, Hon Justice James Omotosho declared that Shaibu’s removal from office and the subsequent appointment of Omobayo Godwin as his replacement by the Governor of Edo State were illegal, unconstitutional, and void.  The court found that the impeachment process breached the procedural provisions outlined in Section 188(1) to (9) of the Nigerian Constitution. Justice Omotosho stressed that the ouster clause in Section 188(10),…

The police on Tuesday arraigned a suspected fraudster, Oluwatobi Ajibola, before the Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court in Ogba for defrauding a traditional ruler, Emmanuel Olofinjana, to the tune of N6.3 million. The defendant, 29, was arraigned on three counts bordering on stealing by extorting the traditional ruler that she was pregnant and had given birth to twin babies for him, knowing it to be false. Appearing before Magistrate Lateef Owolabi, the police counsel, Insp. Oluwasegun Dada urged the court to take the defendant’s plea. Mr Owolabi said the offence was committed between August 2023 and July 2024 at Kayode Oduba…

The spokesman for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC),Felix Morka, has called for comprehensive electoral reforms to ensure that the recent Supreme Court ruling on local government financial autonomy translates into effective governance at the grassroots level.  Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Tuesday, Morka said  that while the Supreme Court’s decision to grant financial autonomy to local governments was a significant step forward, it is insufficient on its own to guarantee robust local governance. In his comments, Morka praised the Supreme Court’s landmark judgement delivered last Thursday, which mandates that the Federal Government directly disburse 20.60% of…

Daud Olatunji A former Minister of Agriculture and one-time National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Audu Ogbeh, has recounted his narrow escape from an assassination attempt during his tenure as party chairman.  Speaking at a public event broadcast by TVC on Tuesday, Ogbeh provided a rare glimpse into the perilous nature of political leadership in Nigeria. Ogbeh, who held the position of PDP national chairman from 2001 to January 2005 and served as the Minister of Communications in the Nigerian Second Republic from 1982 to 1983, revealed that the chairpersons of political parties often lack the influence over…

Daud Olatunji  The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Ekiti State branch, has called on former Governor Ayodele Fayose to withdraw his recent statements on local government autonomy and issue an unreserved apology to council workers.  This demand comes in response to Fayose’s controversial remarks during a television interview, where he expressed opposition to the Supreme Court’s judgement granting autonomy to local governments. In the interview, Fayose claimed that many local government officials did not take their work seriously.  “Go to the council on Wednesday or Friday, and you will not find 10 percent of the staff of…

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) announced on Tuesday that the country has recorded 3,623 suspected cholera cases and 103 deaths across 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory as of July 15, 2024. Addressing the press in Abuja, Dr. Jide Idris, the Director General of the NCDC, disclosed that the outbreak had affected 187 local government areas, resulting in a cumulative case fatality rate of 2.8% since the beginning of the year.  Dr. Idris stressed  that the predominant age group affected by the outbreak is five-year-olds, with males accounting for 52% of the cases. “There was…

Daud Olatunji The Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday, dismissed a suit seeking the removal of Arabic inscriptions from Nigeria’s naira notes.  PLATFORM TIMES reports that the suit, filed by Lagos-based lawyer Chief Malcolm Omirhobo, argued that the inscriptions portrayed Nigeria as an Islamic state, which contradicts its constitutional status as a secular nation. Justice Yellin Bogoro, delivering the judgement, stated that Omirhobo failed to substantiate his claim that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) acted in bad faith by retaining Arabic inscriptions on the naira notes.  Omirhobo, who filed the suit in 2020, contended that the Arabic script…

Daud Olatunji In a substantial allocation of national resources, the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) has distributed a total of N1.354 trillion as the June 2024 Federation Accounts Revenue to the Federal Government, States, and Local Government Councils across Nigeria.  This was disclosed at the July 2024 FAAC meeting, chaired by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, in Abuja. According to a communique issued by FAAC on Tuesday, the N1.354 trillion distributable revenue comprises multiple revenue streams: N142.514 billion from statutory revenue, N523.973 billion from Value Added Tax (VAT), N15.692 billion from Electronic Money…