Author: Platform Times Newspaper

… Accuses NMDPRA Of Issuing Licences For Dirty Fuel Imports  Devakumar Edwin, Vice President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited, has accused International Oil Companies (IOCs) of deliberately undermining the operations of the newly established Dangote Oil Refinery and Petrochemicals.  Speaking at a one-day training programme organized by the Dangote Group, Edwin outlined the various ways in which IOCs are allegedly obstructing the refinery’s ability to secure local crude oil, thereby inflating operational costs and threatening the refinery’s survival. Edwin claimed that IOCs are intentionally hiking the price of local crude oil above market rates, forcing the Dangote…

A man claiming to be a local hunter, Ogunbunmi Jelili, has been apprehended by the Osun State Police Command for allegedly raping a young woman at gunpoint.  The incident occurred in Poyika Adewumi village, near Olode in the Ife South Local Government Area. According to reports, the suspect ambushed the 18-year-old victim and her boyfriend, identified only as Daniel, around 8 p.m. while they were out to buy a soft drink.  The alleged attacker threatened the couple with a Dane gun, vowing to kill them if they did not comply with his demands. In a desperate attempt to escape the…

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says 100 per cent of the SIM cards used in the country are manufactured locally. The Head, New Media and Information Security, NCC, Engr. Babagana Digima said this at a training for media executives in Lagos. The two-day training had the title: “Upskilling Media Stakeholders on Trends in Telecommunications.” Digima attributed the feat to the commission’s commitment to encouraging local content and indigenous participation in the industry through the Nigeria Office for Development in the Indigenous Telecommunications Sector (NORDIT). “The NCC by Section 1D to F of our Act has…

The Labour Party’s Directorate on Mobilization and Integration has denied any plans to replace Peter Obi as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election.  This denial comes in response to rumours circulating on social media, suggesting that the party had reconciled with the Apapa-led faction and agreed to field a different candidate. The rebuttal was issued through a statement signed by key members of the Directorate, including the Director General Marcel Ngogbehei, Deputy Director of Media and Communications Aju Elumelu, and Deputy Director of Strategic Engagement Sheikh Rufai Al-Saddiq. Ngogbehei acknowledged ongoing efforts to reconcile various aggrieved groups within…

The combined operatives of the Nigerian embassy and a Senegalese-based NGO have, in an overnight operation, rescued 24 Nigerian girls who were subjected to sexual exploitation in the Tamaccounda and Kedougou Regions of Senegal. Salihu Abubakar, Nigeria’s acting ambassador in Dakar, Senegal, disclosed this on Sunday. The acting ambassador said most of the girls were from Edo and Delta, a few were from Imo and Abia, and two others were from Plateau. According to him, the girls, mostly under-aged, between the ages of 11 and 24, are being trafficked to Senegal through Cotonou, Republic of Benin, via the Mali border…

Daud Olatunji The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga,on Sunday,  says Nigerians would begin to see the results of the president’s Bola  Tinubu’s efforts in the next 12 months. He therefore called on Nigerians to embrace subsistence farming to address the challenge of the rising cost of foods.                   Onanuga, made the call at a meeting with a group of online editors, under the aegis of the Association of Corporate Online Editors (ACOE) in Abuja. He said “In 1976, former President Olusegun Obasanjo introduced ‘Operation Feed the Nation,’ promoting farming. “In 1984, when former President…

  Agency Report Saudi Arabia on Sunday, declared  that more than 1,300 faithful died during the hajj pilgrimage which took place during intense heat, and that most of the deceased did not have official permits. The official Saudi Press Agency reported, “regrettably, the number of mortalities reached 1,301, with 83 percent being unauthorised to perform hajj and having walked long distances under direct sunlight, without adequate shelter or comfort.” An AFP tally last week, based on official statements and reports from diplomats involved in their countries’ responses, put the toll at more than 1,100. The dead came from more…

The Oyo State Chapter of the Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria has announced a seven-day warning strike starting Monday, June 24, 2024.  The union’s president, John Fabunmi, disclosed this information in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. He added that th decision  was communicated on Sunday in a notification letter sent to all members across various health institutions, including ministries, departments, and local government areas.  Fabinmi said the strike is necessary to address their ongoing demands, which have yet to be met by the state government.  He  explained that despite multiple reminders to the government about their grievances, no…

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has  secured the release of Pius Awoke, a Nigerian lawyer who has reportedly been held in custody by the Department of State Services (DSS) since 2021.    The NBA’s spokesperson, Akorede Lawal stated this in a statement. PLATFORM TIMES gathered that  the president of the NBA,Yakubu Maikyau played a pivotal role in facilitating his  release on June 21, 2024.  Lawal said “the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau, OON, SAN, has secured the release of Pius I. Awoke Esq of the Abakaliki Branch of the NBA from the Department of…

Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has kicked against the call by some politicians for decentralised minimum wage negotiations. Secretary of NLC in Oyo State, Mr Adebayo Aribatise, in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Ibadan, said that decentralising minimum wage negotiations would put workers in some states at a disadvantage. NAN reports that some politicians had, of recent, called for decentralised minimum wage negotiations. One of them, Dr Kayode Fayemi, stressed the need for allowing states to conduct wage negotiations with their labour unions, separate from that of the Federal Government. Fayemi, a former Governor…