Author: Platform Times Newspaper

The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP) has accused the Federal Government of neglecting the welfare of workers in federal polytechnics across the country. In a statement issued on Thursday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, the National President of SSANIP, Comrade Adebanjo Ogunsipe, expressed deep concern over what he described as the government’s persistent insensitivity to the plight of polytechnic staff, especially in the face of current economic hardship. Ogunsipe stated that the association’s members are a critical part of the polytechnic education system and deserve better treatment from the government. He decried the delay in salary payments, describing the…

The Moshood Abiola Polytechnic Alumni Association (MAPALUM) has announced plans to host its biennial convention and general meeting on Saturday, May 24, 2025. The event will hold at the Academic Planning Building Board Hall, Ojere campus of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Abeokuta. In a statement issued by the National President of the association, Mr Ezekiel Obasanya, the convention will feature the election of a new National Executive Council (NEC) by delegates from both local and international chapters. Obasanya noted that representatives from Lagos, Abeokuta, Remo, the United Kingdom and Europe, as well as America and North America, are expected to…

The Federal Government has raised a red flag over the alarming rate of food-related illnesses in Nigeria, disclosing that no fewer than 200,000 Nigerians — many of them children — die every year due to consumption of contaminated or unsafe food. Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Geoffrey Nnaji, made the disclosure on Thursday in Abuja during the launch of the Food Safety Operational Manual tailored for food vendors, market operators, and food inspectors across the country. Quoting the World Health Organization (WHO), Nnaji said over 600 million people globally fall sick each year from unsafe food, with Africa…

Millions of dollars went down the drain on Thursday as global bettors failed to predict the emergence of Pope Leo XIV, an unexpected pick in the just-concluded papal conclave. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who took the name Pope Leo XIV after his election, was not listed among the favourites on any major betting platforms. Despite the high odds placed on other prominent candidates, the 68-year-old American cardinal emerged as the new leader of the Catholic Church, leaving gamblers stunned. On Polymarket, over $21 million worth of bets were placed, with Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Filipino Cardinal…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has yet to make any decision regarding the national chairman and national secretary crisis rocking Labour Party (LP). The commission made the clarification in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, on Thursday in Abuja. Oyekanmi also said that it had yet to take any decision on the national secretary of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). “Our attention has been drawn to some media reports claiming that the commission has recognised certain persons as the national chairman and national secretary of LP. “The reports also inferred that the…

 Balqees Adeniji The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, has called for an urgent shift in Nigeria’s innovation strategy, declaring that the country’s technological future cannot be built by a few cities alone. Speaking on Thursday at a computer roundtable hosted by the Ogun Tech Community, Tijani issued a clarion call for inclusive innovation, urging both federal and state stakeholders to channel investment into emerging tech ecosystems such as Ogun State’s. “We can’t leave innovation in the hands of just a few cities,” the minister warned. “Every part of Nigeria, including towns and rural areas, must…

Nigeria has fully repaid the $3.4 billion emergency loan it received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to cushion the economic shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and the plunge in global oil prices in 2020. The IMF disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, noting that the final repayment was made on April 30, 2025. The repayment, made in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)—a basket of international reserve currencies—was completed in three tranches over three years: SDR613.62 million in 2023, SDR1.22 billion in 2024, and SDR613.62 million in 2025. Despite the full loan repayment, the IMF said Nigeria will continue to…

Key stakeholders of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) have reaffirmed their loyalty to President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC), distancing themselves from an emerging faction reportedly spearheaded by former Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and ex-Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami. Led by Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, a former governor of Nasarawa State, the CPC bloc described itself as the “authentic custodians” of the legacy party and reiterated support for Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda ahead of the 2027 general election. Al-Makura, who addressed journalists on Thursday in Abuja following a meeting of CPC stakeholders, stressed that…

Billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates, has announced plans to donate 99 per cent of his estimated $200 billion fortune, revealing that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will officially shut down on December 31, 2045. Gates made the disclosure on Thursday in a personal blog post on Gates Notes, declaring his renewed commitment to returning the bulk of his wealth to society within his lifetime. “People will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I am determined that ‘he died rich’ will not be one of them,” Gates wrote. “There are too many urgent…

Leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, on Thursday told a Federal High Court in Abuja that he was abducted and not arrested by Nigerian security operatives, in what he described as a forceful rendition from Kenya in 2021. Kanu made the claim during a dramatic session of cross-examination as his trial resumed on May 8, 2025, before Justice Omotosho. The court is hearing terrorism-related charges filed against him by the Federal Government. Looking composed and surrounded by his legal team led by Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), alongside Aloy Ejimakor, Emeka Etiaba, and other senior…