Author: Platform Times Newspaper

Senator Adams Oshiomhole has faulted a proposed bill seeking to establish a training institute for the Police Service Commission (PSC), warning that the Senate must not become a “rubber stamp” for what he described as duplicative institutions. The bill, titled Police Service Commission Training Institute (Establishment) Bill, 2025, was presented at Thursday’s plenary by Senator Yunus Akintunde on behalf of Abdulhamid Mallam-Madori, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Police Affairs. But Oshiomhole, who represents Edo North, argued that the PSC does not require a separate training institute since it employs few people and has a limited operational mandate. “This Senate…

The Senate has removed Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan as Chairman of its Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations, replacing her with Senator Aniekan Bassey of Akwa Ibom North-East. Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the change on Thursday during plenary, though no official reason was given. However, the decision is believed to be linked to Akpoti-Uduaghan’s unresolved suspension, which has sparked legal and political controversy. Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central, had earlier been reassigned to the Diaspora Committee in February following her removal as Chair of the Local Content Committee in a minor leadership reshuffle. Her replacement comes despite a Federal High…

Elder statesman and nationalist, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, has declared that he is no longer affiliated with any political party or group, distancing himself from the flurry of political alignments building up ahead of the 2027 general elections. Speaking with journalists in Kano on Wednesday, the 98-year-old statesman said his current preoccupation is with national development and not partisan politics, stressing that his role now is to support ideas that will help move Nigeria forward. “I am not a member of any political group or organisation,” Yakasai stated firmly. “At this point in my life, my interest is solely on promoting…

Pharmaceutical products worth over ₦1.3 billion have been confiscated in Kano State following rigorous regulatory operations at the Kanawa Pharmaceutical Coordinated Wholesale Centre (KPP-CWC), situated at the Kano Economic City along Zaria Road. Disclosing the development on Thursday, the Chief Superintendent Pharmacist at the centre, Hajiya Furera Ado Muhammed, said the seizure was a result of intensified quality control measures and oversight mechanisms instituted after the relocation of the once-notorious open drug market to the newly established centre. “This centre has been a game changer,” Furera said. “Without its intervention, these substandard drugs would have made their way into the…

The National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) has revealed that only 39 percent of candidates who sat for the 2025 entrance examination into federal and state technical colleges scored 50 percent or above. The registrar of NABTEB, Prof. Mohammed Aminu Mohammed, disclosed this on Wednesday during the commencement of the 2025/2026 National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE) selection and placement exercise in Benin City, Edo State. According to the examination body, a total of 29,260 candidates registered for the exam across 203 centres nationwide. However, only 24,074 students participated, while 5,186 (17.72%) were absent. The breakdown of participants showed that…

Nigerian banks are intensifying efforts to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) 2026 recapitalisation deadline as the sector’s overall capital shortfall narrows to ₦783.4 billion, following a major funding breakthrough by Stanbic IBTC Holdings. Stanbic IBTC recently concluded a ₦148.7 billion rights issue, which was oversubscribed by 21.9 per cent, raising a total of ₦181.4 billion. Combined with an additional ₦140 billion capital injection from its parent company, the bank has now met the apex bank’s ₦200 billion minimum capital requirement for national banks. This development leaves six banks — FCMB, Fidelity Bank, GTCO, UBA, Sterling Bank, and…

…Losses exceed $1.5bn annually as lawmakers seek urgent action The Presidency has raised alarm over the deepening malnutrition crisis in Nigeria, disclosing that the country now ranks second globally and first in Africa for child malnutrition. Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Public Health, Dr. Uju Anwukah, made the disclosure in Abuja during a Nutrition and Food Security Summit organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Nutrition and Food Security. Anwukah, who spoke on the topic “Strengthening Nutrition Coordination in Nigeria through the N-774 Initiative,” described the situation as a national emergency requiring urgent and coordinated response.…

Economic experts and civil society groups have raised alarm over Nigeria’s mounting debt burden, warning that the country may be heading toward a fiscal cliff, as debt servicing alone is projected to gulp ₦14.32 trillion—representing 25 per cent of the 2025 national budget. The alarm was sounded on Wednesday in Abuja during the National Debt Conference, jointly organised by the African Network for Economic and Environmental Justice (ANEEJ) and the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD). The conference brought together development economists, anti-corruption campaigners, and policy advocates, all expressing deep concern over the government’s growing reliance on…

…  Hotel Manager, Staff Arrested Operatives of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) have busted a major human trafficking ring operating out of a popular hotel in Katsina State, rescuing three young women who were allegedly forced into prostitution. The raid, which took place in the heart of Katsina township, led to the arrest of the hotel manager and two of his staff, all suspected to be part of an interstate trafficking syndicate that recruits young women from southern Nigeria and forces them into sexual slavery in the North. According to a statement signed by…

Yusrah Lawal  A 200-level student of Babcock University, Olaoluwa Subomi Lawson, has died by suicide at his father’s residence inside the Redeemed Christian Church of God’s Redemption Camp, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Ogun State. PLATFORM TIMES gathered that the 19-year-old student was found hanged in his room, with family sources saying he took his life under yet-to-be-determined circumstances. The tragic incident was confirmed to security operatives by a relative of the deceased who resides in Festac Town, Lagos. According to sources close to the family, Olaoluwa’s mother, Mrs. Olufunke Lawson, who lives in the United Kingdom, reportedly alerted the…