Author: Platform Times Newspaper

Morenikeji Adebayo Nigeria has seen a concerning rise in HIV cases over the past decade, with more than 2.9 million reported infections between 2014 and 2024. The data highlights the persistent challenge the country faces in combating the epidemic, despite ongoing public health efforts. According to official reports, the number of HIV cases steadily increased over the years, starting with 167,257 cases in 2014. This was followed by 197,466 cases in 2015, a jump to 227,025 in 2016, and a further rise to 236,406 in 2017. In 2018, the figure slightly declined to 214,217 cases, but the upward trend resumed…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has declared that ex-militant leader, Chief Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, will be invited for questioning over a viral video showing alleged abuse of the Nigerian currency. The video, which surfaced over the weekend, showed the former commander of the defunct Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) celebrating his 54th birthday in grand style. In the now-viral clip, Tompolo is seen dancing while a guest sprays bundles of N1,000 notes on him—an act prohibited under Nigeria’s anti-naira abuse laws. The footage was posted on X (formerly Twitter) by a user…

A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has sentenced two individuals to six months’ imprisonment each for abusing the Nigerian currency by spraying N200 notes during a social event. Justice Alexander Owoeye convicted the duo—Babatunde Peter Olaitan, popularly known as TDollar, and Tobilola Olamide, also known as TobiNation—after they pleaded guilty to separate one-count charges brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The EFCC told the court that the offence was committed on April 8, 2025, at a party held at 23 Macdonald Road, Ikoyi, Lagos. Both defendants were captured in a viral TikTok video…

JAMB Orders Review  Amid Widespread Complaints No fewer than 1,534,654 candidates who sat the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) have petitioned the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), demanding a review of their results over what they described as “unprecedented mass failure.” The candidates, through their legal representative, John Nwobodo, served a petition dated May 12, invoking the Freedom of Information Act to demand full disclosure of the questions and corresponding answers used during the examination. They argue that their results do not reflect their efforts, and suspect technical issues may have compromised the integrity of the scoring system.…

The Federal Government, through the Debt Management Office (DMO), has launched a N300 billion Sovereign Sukuk aimed at financing critical infrastructure projects across the country. The offer, which opened on Monday, May 12, will run until May 20, with a settlement date fixed for May 23. It is a seven-year Ijarah (lease) Sukuk with a rental rate of 19.75 percent per annum, payable twice a year. Director-General of the DMO, Patience Oniha, unveiled the Series VII Sukuk issuance at an investor engagement session in Abuja, noting that the instrument is part of the government’s broader strategy to deepen the domestic…

The Ogun State chapter of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) has been thrown into mourning following the sudden death of one of its prominent members, Mrs. Bukola Agbakaizu, who reportedly slumped and died on Monday. Agbakaizu, a veteran broadcaster with the state-owned Ogun State Television (OGTV), was said to have collapsed while preparing for her afternoon shift and was immediately rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Idi Aba, Abeokuta, where she was later pronounced dead. Until her death, the 52-year-old journalist was an ex-officio member of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ogun State Council, and a longstanding…

 Balqees Adeniji Nigeria has lost over 15,000 medical doctors to foreign countries in the last seven years, a development that has deepened the country’s already strained healthcare system. According to data compiled by Statisense from the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, a total of 15,515 Nigerian doctors migrated between 2018 and 2024 in search of better opportunities abroad. The report revealed a fluctuating but rising trend in emigration figures. In 2018, 1,551 doctors left the country. The number increased to 1,824 in 2019 but saw a slight dip to 1,242 in 2020, likely due to global travel restrictions…

The League of Imams and Alfas (Raabittah), Ogun State, has charged the state’s 2025 Hajj contingent to uphold the highest standards of discipline, devotion, and integrity as they embark on the sacred pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. In a statement signed by its Secretary General, Alhaji Tajudeen Mustapha Adewunmi, the President General of the League, Shaykh Sikirullahi Babalola, extended heartfelt felicitations to all intending pilgrims, describing the Hajj as a divine journey that demands spiritual consciousness and moral uprightness. “As the Ogun State contingent departs in batches for the 2025 Hajj pilgrimage, we remind them that this is not just a…

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, has dismissed speculations about his alleged plans to return to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), declaring that the party would go into extinction before the end of 2025. Ganduje’s response follows a remark credited to former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, who reportedly suggested that the APC was on the verge of collapse and that many of its current leaders, including Ganduje, would eventually return to the PDP. But in a swift rebuttal issued through his Chief Press Secretary, Edwin Olofu, on Sunday in Abuja, Ganduje described…

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, has dismissed speculations about his alleged plans to return to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), declaring that the party would go into extinction before the end of 2025. Ganduje’s response follows a remark credited to former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, who reportedly suggested that the APC was on the verge of collapse and that many of its current leaders, including Ganduje, would eventually return to the PDP. But in a swift rebuttal issued through his Chief Press Secretary, Edwin Olofu, on Sunday in Abuja, Ganduje described…