Author: Platform Times Newspaper

Katsina State Governor, Dr Dikko Radda, on Friday declared that community-initiated peace deals with bandits in the state are already yielding “very positive results,” leading to a sharp decline in attacks, kidnappings and spending on victims’ welfare. Radda stated this during a tour of Batsari and Danmusa Local Government Areas, where he drove through the Danburum Forest — formerly one of the deadliest bandit enclaves in the North-West. The governor said he deliberately passed through the route to personally assess the reported improvement in security. Danburum Forest, once a major hiding spot for armed groups, had recorded hundreds of deaths…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has refunded a total of N96.5 million to several victims swindled by a forex-based Ponzi scheme operated in Enugu State. The refund was made at the EFCC’s Enugu Zonal Command, following months of investigation into petitions filed against one Oyubu Akpojewve, also known as Justice Nonso Chima, the Managing Director of Leverage Index Limited. In a statement on Friday, EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, said the refund aligns with the commission’s renewed drive to ensure restitution for victims of financial crimes. According to the petition dated September 30, 2024, Akpojewve allegedly marketed fraudulent investment…

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has disqualified former Deputy Governor Iyiola Omisore and six other aspirants from contesting in the party’s upcoming Osun State governorship primary. The APC screening committee announced that the disqualified candidates failed to meet the requirement of presenting evidence of sponsorship by at least five fully registered and financially up-to-date party members from each Local Government Area in the state, as mandated by Articles 9.3(i) and 31.2(ii) of the APC Constitution and Paragraph 6(c) of the party’s guidelines. Other aspirants affected by the disqualification include former Deputy Governor Benedict Olugboyega Alabi, Dotun Babayemi, Akin Ogunbiyi, Senator…

The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Kemi Nandap, has urged Nigerians to stop patronising touts and middlemen for passport processing, insisting that the NIS now provides 24-hour, fully digital channels designed to eliminate exploitation and enhance transparency. Nandap gave the warning on Friday in Abuja while delivering the keynote address at the fourth-quarter Nationwide Sensitisation Campaign against corruption and for improved service delivery. Speaking on the campaign theme, “Innovating for Transparency and Efficiency: Strengthening Service Delivery and Combating Corruption Through Reforms,” the Immigration chief said Nigerians must take advantage of the Service’s modernised systems rather than rely on…

The Federal Government on Friday announced an ambitious plan to revitalise an additional 8,000 Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and significantly expand nationwide immunisation coverage under the 2024–2028 Medium-Term Framework. The Minister of State for Health, Dr Iziaq Salako, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu. Salako said the revitalisation programme aligns with the administration’s push to strengthen social welfare and deepen access to quality healthcare at the grassroots. “Mr President is committed to human capital development as captured in the 2024–2028 MTF. This includes revitalising 8,000 additional…

The leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, took a fresh twist on Friday as the Federal High Court in Abuja shifted hearing in the suit filed by the pro-Nyesom Wike faction to January 14, 2026. Justice Joyce Abdulmalik adjourned the matter after informing parties that the motion seeking her recusal had not been served on all respondents. The lawsuit seeks to nullify the recent PDP national convention held in Ibadan, which produced Ambassador Kabir Turaki  and other officers currently laying claim to the party’s national leadership. In a dramatic turn, a faction of the party loyal to former…

…Partners Tunde Onakoya, LSETF, LASODA on Disability-to-Ability Programme Jennifer Eze Lafarge Africa Plc on Thursday marked the 2025 International Day of Persons with Disabilities with a celebration of beneficiaries enrolled in its Disability-to-Ability (D2A) Programme, a flagship empowerment scheme designed to equip 100 persons with disabilities with vocational and entrepreneurial skills. The event, held simultaneously across the programme’s two training hubs in Ikeja and Ikorodu, brought together partners from the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA), and Chess-in-Slums founder and Guinness World Record holder, Tunde…

The Department of State Services has arrested a medical doctor alleged to be supplying drugs to injured kidnappers operating across parts of Kwara State. PLATFORM TIMES gathered that the suspect, whose identity is being withheld for security reasons, was intercepted at Jebba in the Moro Local Government Area after intelligence linked him to a network of couriers servicing violent criminal gangs. Security sources said that the doctor was travelling from Sokoto and was on his way to deliver medical supplies to bandits nursing gunshot wounds sustained during recent clashes with security forces. “He was tracked and picked up at the…

Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Chike Amaewhule, on Friday formally defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress, blaming what he described as “unresolved divisions” within the PDP for his decision. Amaewhule announced his defection during plenary in Port Harcourt, alongside 15 other lawmakers who also switched allegiance to the APC, further reshaping the political landscape in the state. Addressing his colleagues, the Speaker said he had already notified his ward chairman of his exit from the PDP, stressing that his move was driven by the internal cracks that had continued to weaken…

….Protest To Hit Abuja, Lagos, All State Capitals If Payments Remain Stalled ….Coalition Demands ₦32,000 Increment, ₦25,000 Palliative Allowance Daud Olatunji  The Coalition of Federal Pensioners of Nigeria has announced plans for a nationwide nude protest on December 8 to demand the payment of their outstanding pension increment arrears and palliative allowances. The group said the protest would proceed simultaneously in Abuja, Lagos and all state capitals if the Federal Government fails to release the long-approved payments before the deadline. National Chairman of the coalition and head of the NIPOST pensioners’ chapter, Mukaila Ogunbote, disclosed the plan in a statement…