Author: Platform Times Newspaper

The Federal Government has denied reports suggesting it disowned existing agreements with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), insisting that the last binding pact between both parties remains the 2009 agreement. This was contained in a statement issued by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education, on Friday, following widespread backlash over comments attributed to the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa. Alausa was earlier quoted as saying no agreement had ever been signed with ASUU, a claim that triggered sharp reactions from the lecturers’ union. Clarifying the controversy, the ministry explained that the Minister’s…

Residents of Onosa community in Lagos State’s Ibeju-Lekki area erupted in protest on Friday after police officers allegedly shot dead an unarmed man during an incident that left two others critically injured. The shooting, which reportedly occurred on Thursday night, sparked outrage among youths who trooped out in their hundreds at daybreak, barricading major roads and disrupting vehicular movement. Eyewitnesses told PLATFORM TIMES that the protest began after news of the victim’s death spread across the community. In video clips obtained from the scene, residents were seen chanting slogans and setting up roadblocks with tyres, while the lifeless body of…

Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has cautioned Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, against interfering in the affairs of local government councils, insisting that the governor lacks the constitutional powers to suspend elected council chairmen. Fagbemi’s warning followed the suspension of the 18 local government chairmen and their deputies by the Edo State House of Assembly on December 17, 2024, after Governor Okpebholo directed the lawmakers to act on allegations of insubordination and financial misconduct against the council officials. The governor had accused the chairmen of refusing to submit their financial statements to his office,…

A Magistrate’s Court sitting in Akure, Ondo State, on Thursday ordered the remand of a 42-year-old pastor, Samson Ajayi, for allegedly defiling his 17-year-old daughter for four years. Ajayi, a father of five, was arraigned on two counts bordering on rape and defilement. He was alleged to have consistently abused his daughter between March 2021 and August 2025 in his home at the Igoba area of Akure. The Prosecutor, Supol Martins Olowofeso, told the court that the offences contravened Sections 3 (a, b, c) and 25 of the Ondo State Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law, 2021. According to police investigation,…

Troops of the Nigerian Army have intercepted two trucks conveying 242 bags of fertiliser suspected to be diverted for use in the production of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) by terrorists in Borno State. A senior military source confirmed the operation to journalists in Abuja on Friday, describing it as part of ongoing efforts to cut off critical logistics to Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters operating in the North-East. According to the source, soldiers of the 151 Task Force Battalion, stationed at Banki Junction in Bama Local Government Area, intercepted a truck on Wednesday carrying 142 bags of NPK 20-10-10 fertiliser.…

The Osun State Government on Friday said more than 11,000 school dropouts returned to classrooms in 2024 following reforms in the education sector. The Commissioner for Education, Dipo Eluwole, disclosed this in Osogbo while highlighting the impact of Governor Ademola Adeleke’s interventions in public schools. According to him, the return of thousands of out-of-school children was largely influenced by the reintroduction of the school feeding programme, as well as the rehabilitation of abandoned schools across rural communities. Eluwole explained that previous administrations worsened school dropouts by concentrating on “mega schools” far from local communities, forcing many children from poor households…

The Chaplain of the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, and Pastor of Mount Zion Christian Faith Assembly, Tony Ogbebor, has urged Christians to focus on their divine purpose rather than the pursuit of material wealth. Ogbebor gave the charge during the 27th Annual August Reunion and Retreat Programme of the church, held at the hospital chapel in Aro, Abeokuta. This year’s event, which had the theme “The Planting of the Lord,” drew participants from across Nigeria, the West African sub-region, as well as members joining online from Europe and America. Speaking with PLATFORM TIMES, the cleric explained that the three-day retreat…

The Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, has disclosed that Nigeria’s Excess Crude Account (ECA) currently stands at $535,823.39 as of August 2025. Ogunjimi made the disclosure on Thursday in Abuja while presenting the nation’s financial updates at the 151st National Economic Council (NEC) meeting presided over by Vice-President Kashim Shettima. Created in 2004 under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the ECA was designed to save oil earnings above the annual budget benchmark as a buffer against global crude price volatility. Speaking through the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, Ogunjimi explained that aside from the ECA, the Stabilisation Account now…

Swiss building materials giant, Holcim Group, has formally exited Nigeria after completing the sale of its majority stake in Lafarge Africa Plc to Chinese cement producer, Huaxin Cement Ltd. Holcim confirmed on Friday that it had divested its 83.81 per cent shareholding in Lafarge Africa in a transaction worth $1 billion on a 100 per cent equity basis, before dividend adjustments. The move comes eight months after the company first announced plans to pull out of Nigeria and hand over its operations to Huaxin, one of China’s biggest building materials manufacturers currently expanding its footprint across Africa. Holcim’s regional head…

Human rights activist, Deji Adeyanju, has declared that if faced with a choice between President Bola Tinubu and former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, in the 2027 general elections, he would cast his vote for Tinubu. Adeyanju, who spoke on a Channels Television programme on Friday, said his preference was not borne out of allegiance to the ruling All Progressives Congress, but because of what he described as the intolerance of Obi’s supporters. “Why would somebody like me support the APC? Support the APC for what? But if the opposition presents Peter Obi, I will vote for Tinubu,” he said.…