Author: Platform Times Newspaper

As the new academic session begins, the harsh realities faced by over 345 pupils at the Local Education Authority (LEA) Primary School in Kaida Tsoho, Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, have come to light, with children forced to learn outdoors due to a lack of classrooms. According to reports, students in the area are attending lessons under the open sky, as the school has no physical structures to accommodate them.  The dire situation also forces many children to trek over 12 kilometers to neighboring schools for an education. A recent post on X (formerly Twitter)…

Daud Olatunji The Department of State Services (DSS) has released the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, on bail after hours of detention at its Abuja headquarters.  Ajaero, who was apprehended on Monday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, while en route to the United Kingdom for an official engagement, had his arrest condemned by civil rights groups and labor advocates. The detention of Ajaero, Nigeria’s leading labor figure, stirred public outcry and concern among the labor community and human rights organizations.  According to a statement by the NLC, Ajaero’s arrest was conducted without a…

…Olowu, Fatoki Others Receive Honours  Daud Olatunji  On the occasion of International Literacy Day, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has pledged his full commitment to advancing literacy in Nigeria through the Nigerian Non-Governmental Association for Literacy Support Services (NOGALSS).  Obasanjo made this promise during a ceremony held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, where he was officially invested as the Grand Patron of the organization. Joining Obasanjo in receiving honours were prominent figures such as the Olowu of Owu, Oba Prof. Saka Matemilola, who was inducted into the Royal Fathers Council of Elders for a Literate Nigeria,…

Emmanuel Oludare The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has commenced a high-level, closed-door meeting in response to the sudden arrest of its president, Joe Ajaero, by agents of the Nigerian government.  The arrest occurred as Ajaero was en route to the United Kingdom for an official engagement with global labour unions, a development that has sparked outrage within the labour community. Benson Upah, Head of Public Relations for the NLC, confirmed the news during an interview with journalists, expressing the union’s deep concern over what they described as an “illegal detention.”  Upah stated that Ajaero was arrested without any legal warrant…

Senior Advocate of Nigeria and legal counsel to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Femi Falana, has clarified that the arrest of the NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) on Monday was unrelated to his earlier invitation by the police. Ajaero, who had been summoned by the police regarding allegations of a “threat to public peace,” had his police appointment rescheduled before his sudden arrest by the DSS. According to reports, Ajaero was detained by the DSS at the airport on Monday morning while en route to London to attend the Trade Union…

Daud Olatunji The Action Democratic Party (ADP) in Ogun State has unveiled Chief Olalekan Shoyinka, popularly known as “Ayinla Egba,” as the party’s consensus candidate for the chairmanship of Abeokuta South Local Government in the upcoming local government elections. The announcement was made during the state congress and party primaries held on Saturday, where ADP leaders, led by the state chairperson Yeye Olufunke Olanrewaju, expressed their confidence in Ayinla Egba as the right choice to lead the local government.  According to the party, his broad appeal and deep-rooted connection to the community made him a suitable candidate for the…

Daud Olatunji  A tragic tanker explosion along the Lapai-Agaie road in Niger State claimed the lives of over 48 people in the early hours of Sunday.  The incident, which occurred around 12:30 a.m., involved a petrol tanker loaded with fuel that collided with a truck carrying passengers and cattle, resulting in a devastating explosion that rocked the area. The petrol tanker, which was travelling along the Lapai-Agaie route, crashed into the truck approximately two kilometres from the Dendo Community in Agaie Local Government Area.  The truck, reportedly coming from Wudil in Kano State and headed towards Lagos, was significantly…

Daud Olatunji  The Lagos State Government has been taken to the Federal High Court in Ikoyi by two community groups, De Renaissance Patriots Foundation and Ibeju-Lekki Peoples Forum, demanding transparency over Alhaji Aliko Dangote’s recent claim that he paid $100 million for land in Ibeju-Lekki.  PLATFORM TIMES reports that the  groups are seeking an official statement from the state government on the payment and how the money was utilised. In a legal motion filed on Friday, September 6, 2024, the applicants urged the court to compel the state government to clarify whether Dangote’s claim is true.  The statement read further…

The management of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, has expressed its deep shock over the arrest of a 200-level student, Ayomide Adeleye, from the Department of Philosophy, who is allegedly involved in a murder case.  In an official statement released by the institution on Fridayand signed by Wale Balogun, Ph.D, for Head Corporate Affairs, the university management condemned the criminal act and extended condolences to the bereaved family. PLATFORM TIMES reports that Miss Christianah Idowu, a 300-Level student of Pure and Applied Botany at the College of Biosciences (COLBIOS) of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), was abducted in…

By Adedoyin Oguntade Former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration created a Disability Data Bank in 2020 with the goal of documenting personal information of Nigerians living with disabilities and the challenges they face. This was set up by the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Disability Matters, in collaboration with the Basic Registry and Information System in Nigeria (BRISIN).  The SSA to the President on Disability Matters, Dr Samuel Ankeii, after signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the leadership of BRISIN, excitedly announced that the data bank was the first database of PwDs in the country’s history,…