Author: Platform Times Newspaper

The Nigeria Labour Congress on Monday picketed the headquarters of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company in Abuja, protesting the alleged wrongful disengagement of about 900 workers and threatening to shut down operations within 48 hours if the dispute is not resolved. The protest, led by the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, brought activities at the company’s premises to a halt as workers vacated their offices in compliance with the union’s directive. Ajaero described the mass sack as “the height of deceit,” accusing the management of misleading labour over the nature of the disengagement exercise. According to him, the union initially did…

A 52-year-old woman, identified simply as Titilayo, collapsed and died on Tuesday shortly after she was arraigned before the Federal High Court sitting in Benin City, throwing the courtroom into confusion and sparking controversy over her handling by law enforcement operatives. The deceased, who was earlier arrested by the Edo State Task Force, had been transferred to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for prosecution over allegations of selling a substance suspected to be a hard drug. Eyewitnesses claimed the woman appeared visibly unwell before and during her appearance in court, alleging that her condition was ignored prior to…

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has taken former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, back into custody as his legal battle with the anti-graft agency continues. El-Rufai was previously released from detention on March 27, 2026, following the death of his mother, but was returned to custody on Tuesday after fresh court proceedings. The former governor had earlier appeared before the Kaduna State High Court in connection with a separate charge instituted against him by the ICPC. However, the hearing could not proceed as scheduled due to the absence of the second defendant in the case.…

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has dismissed reports alleging that repentant terrorists and bandits are being secretly recruited into the Nigerian military, describing the claims as false and misleading. The Coordinator of Operation Safe Corridor, Brigadier General Yusuf Alli, who spoke on Tuesday in Abuja, said the Nigerian Armed Forces maintain strict recruitment procedures that automatically disqualify anyone with a criminal record. “We are not recruiting any k!llers into the army, and we can never do that,” Alli said, stressing that the military would not compromise its standards under any circumstance. The clarification comes amid growing public concern and online reports…

A newlywed member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Ibrahim Haruna, has been killed in a reprisal attack in Jos, Plateau State, just a day before he was due to complete his national service, PLATFORM TIMES learnt on Tuesday . The attack, which occurred along the Jos–Bauchi highway, followed an earlier deadly assault on the Gari Ya Waye community in Angwan Rukuba, Jos North Local Government Area, where about 30 persons were reportedly killed on Sunday, March 29, 2026. In the aftermath of the initial incident, irate residents were said to have launched retaliatory attacks on unsuspecting travellers and…

Former Senate President and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Bukola Saraki, has ruled out contesting the 2027 presidential election, declaring that he will instead wait until 2031 in deference to the country’s zoning arrangement. Saraki said his decision was guided by the principle of political equity and the need to allow the South complete its eight-year turn at the presidency before power rotates back to the North. Speaking on the development, the former Kwara State governor maintained that the South, which produced the president in 2023, deserves to complete its tenure unchallenged. “I’m not contesting in 2027 because I…

The National Youth Service Corps has sanctioned 24 corps members serving in Sokoto State over offences ranging from absenteeism to outright abscondment. The Sokoto State Coordinator of the scheme, Usman Yakubu Yaro, disclosed this on Tuesday during the passing-out ceremony of the 2025 Batch A, Stream I corps members in the state. Yaro said eight of the affected corps members would repeat their service year, while 16 others had their service extended as punishment for various infractions committed during the period of national service. He stressed that the scheme would not tolerate acts of indiscipline, particularly truancy, noting that the…

The Federal Government has approved a far-reaching reform of Nigeria’s cooperative sector, including the establishment of a Cooperative Bank and the formal recognition of the Institute of Cooperative Professionals of Nigeria as a key driver of the transformation agenda. This formed part of resolutions reached at the 8th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Cooperative Affairs held in Abuja from March 24 to 27, 2026. The meeting, chaired by the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, drew participants from across the 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory, cooperative federations, development partners and private…

The crisis rocking the Mace Club of Nigeria has deepened as a member, Bolaji Adeniji, has dragged the association before a Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, seeking the nullification of its recent elections over alleged constitutional breaches. Adeniji, a former General Secretary of the club, is challenging his disqualification from the election, describing the process as manipulated and contrary to the club’s constitution. In court documents obtained by PLATFORM TIMES, the plaintiff alleged that his exclusion from the race was “deliberately planned and engineered” to favour preferred candidates backed by vested interests within the club. The Mace Electoral Committee…

Nigeria’s small and medium-scale enterprises are grappling with a massive N48tn financing shortfall, amid concerns that recent banking reforms have yet to translate into meaningful credit to the productive sector, a new report has revealed. The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) raised the alarm in a policy brief on Sunday, stating that despite improvements in the banking system, credit flow to SMEs remains alarmingly low. According to the report led by economist, Dr Muda Yusuf, SME lending accounts for only about one per cent of total bank credit in Nigeria far below the sub-Saharan African average of…