Author: Platform Times Newspaper

…Reps To Audit Chinese Loan, Grill MDAs, Contractors …Senators Nove To Trace $30m Safe-School Funds, Demand Better Protection Daud Olatunji  The National Assembly has opened two major investigations into Nigeria’s troubled security infrastructure, launching parallel probes into the failed $460 million Abuja CCTV project and the controversial $30 million Safe-School Programme. The dual inquiries by the House of Representatives and the Senate come amid a disturbing rise in kidnappings, school attacks and coordinated bandit raids nationwide—crises lawmakers say expose deep rot in the country’s security spending. Reps Move To Unravel $460m Abuja CCTV ‘Scandal’ The House of Representatives on Thursday…

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has been safely evacuated from coup-hit Guinea-Bissau after soldiers seized power and dismantled the electoral process in the West African nation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed late Thursday that Jonathan, who led the West African Elders Forum (WAEF) Election Observation Mission, departed Bissau on a special flight alongside members of his delegation. “Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is very safe and out of Guinea-Bissau. He left with a special flight with members of his delegation, including Ibm Chambas,” the ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said in a statement. Jonathan had travelled to the country to monitor…

Senate Chief Whip, Ali Ndume, has asked the Federal Government to drastically reduce National Assembly activities and other non-essential government spending in order to free up funds for tackling Nigeria’s worsening insecurity. Ndume, who represents Borno South, made the call on Thursday during an interview on a  Television programme, insisting that Nigeria’s security crisis has reached a level that requires “unusual sacrifices” from the political class. The senator argued that lawmakers do not need to sit as frequently as they currently do, suggesting quarterly sittings with salaries and allowances adjusted to reflect reduced legislative workload. “Urgently, we must discard everything…

A young woman was on Wednesday shot dead by gunmen who ambushed the convoy of former Minister of Labour and ex-Anambra State governor, Chris Ngige, along the Nkpor–Nnobi Road in Idemili North Local Government Area of the state. Ngige, who confirmed the incident through his former spokesperson, Fred Chukwuelobe, was not in the convoy when the heavily armed attackers struck. According to Chukwuelobe, the gunmen—who disguised in police and military uniforms—opened fire on the pilot vehicle, shooting a police officer and carting away his rifle and uniform. “In the confusion, a lady who was recording the attack with her phone…

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked President Bola Tinubu to set up an independent panel of inquiry to investigate how state governors have spent security votes since 2015, warning that the ongoing “national security emergency” may fail unless there is full accountability. SERAP, in a statement on Thursday signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said despite the Federal Government’s declaration of a nationwide security emergency, state governors continue to spend billions of naira in opaque security allocations with little to show in terms of improved safety. Citing a recent Transparency International report, the organisation said security…

Some retired officers of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) on Wednesday scaled the gates of the National Assembly to press for urgent action on a bill that would allow them to exit the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). The retirees, popularly referred to as “warrior retirees,” were demanding a meeting with Senate President Godswill Akpabio, accusing the upper chamber of deliberately delaying the passage of the legislation. Security personnel had locked the National Assembly gates, prompting the retirees to attempt to climb over in protest. High Chief Onyeike Chukwuma, a retired superintendent of police, described the CPS as “genocidal” and said…

The De Renaissance Patriots Foundation, a socio-cultural body of Lagos indigenes, has condemned the Lagos State Government’s decision to hand over the issuance of digital indigeneship certificates to a private firm, Qista Technologies, describing the move as an assault on the identity and heritage of native Lagosians. In a strongly worded statement titled “The Capture of Lagos Identity by an Inactive Sole Proprietorship Concern” and signed by its Media Officer, Lasisi Robert, the group warned that the development amounts to “centralising, commodifying and diluting” the indigeneship structure that has existed for centuries. The group said the quiet outsourcing of the…

The Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Oludaisi Elemide, on Thursday received a coalition of women’s rights organisations advocating support for the proposed Special Seats Bill aimed at improving women’s representation in governance. The coalition, which visited the Assembly complex in Abeokuta, included representatives of the Women in Politics Forum, 100 Women Lobby Group, Safepoint and Care Initiative, and the Women in Media Development Initiative, with backing from Global Affairs Canada and ActionAid Nigeria. Led by Professor Olubunmi Ashimolowo, who represented the National Coordinator of the 100 Women Lobby Group (100WLG), Dr. Felicia Onibon, the…

Aishah Waliyullah The Professional Driving Instructors Academy of Nigeria (PDIAN) has renewed calls for a uniform national curriculum for all driving schools, warning that Nigeria’s fragmented driver-training system is fuelling the high rate of road crashes attributed largely to human error. The academy made the appeal during its second Drivers Education and Road Safety Webinar held on Wednesday, monitored by PLATFORM TIMES, with the theme “Building Capacity in Drivers Education for Improved Road Safety Outcomes in Nigeria.” PDIAN said the absence of standardized instruction across the country has created a dangerous gap in driver competence, exposing millions of Nigerians to…

The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has announced that an estimated 98 per cent of Nigerian workers will stop paying personal income tax from January 2026 under the Federal Government’s new tax framework. Oyedele disclosed this during the First Bank SME Connect webinar themed “Strategies for SMEs: Securing Your Business under the New Tax Law.” He said the reforms, approved for implementation next year, are designed to reduce hardship on low-income earners and create a tax system that is “fair, efficient and growth-focused.” According to him, workers earning the current N70,000 national…