Author: Platform Times Newspaper

Dangote Cement Plc, Ibese Plant, on Wednesday deepened its community engagement with the empowerment of youths, women and students in its host communities, announcing a N15.72m scholarship scheme and unveiling a social investment scorecard that showed 13 completed projects and 10 ongoing initiatives. The interventions were unveiled at the 4th edition of the company’s annual Community Day held in Ibese, Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State, as part of efforts to give back to communities hosting the cement plant. Speaking at the event, the Plant Director, Mr Ayyagari Subbaraidu, said the Community Day reflected the company’s “deliberate and…

The Alternative, a political movement advocating pragmatic governance, has called on Nigerians to reject what it described as “alarmism and recycled politics” by the National Opposition Movement (NOM) and embrace the country’s ongoing tax reforms. In a statement signed by its leader, Otunba Segun Showunmi, The Alternative accused NOM of offering no credible economic solutions, warning that continued obstructionism could stall the country’s efforts to restructure public finances and build a sustainable fiscal framework. “The National Opposition Movement has offered Nigerians a familiar mix of selective outrage and political nostalgia, not a workable economic vision,” Showunmi said. “Those who presided…

Abeokuta-based politician and Convener of the United Premier Movement, Hon. Olalekan A. Shoyinka, has commended the Ogun State Government for ongoing repairs of inner-city roads in Abeokuta, while warning that poor supervision and substandard execution could undermine the gains if quality and accountability are not prioritised. In a piece titled “When Governance Shows Up on the Road: A Call for Consistency and Quality in Ogun’s Road Maintenance,” Shoyinka said the sight of officials of the Ogun State Public Works Agency repairing roads across the metropolis was a reassuring signal that governance was beginning to touch the everyday realities of residents.…

A human rights coalition has accused operatives of the anti-kidnapping unit of the Imo State Police Command, popularly known as Tiger Base, of running a vast extortion racket in which detainees and their families were allegedly forced to pay between ₦200,000 and ₦20m for release. The Coalition Against Police Tiger Base Impunity (CAPTI) made the allegation in a report released on Wednesday, documenting what it described as “systematic, egregious and routine” human rights abuses at the Owerri-based facility between 2021 and 2025. According to the report, the unit frequently intervened in civil disputes such as tenancy and commercial disagreements, detaining…

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has disclosed that women account for one in every four Nigerians involved in drug and substance abuse, even as they make up only one in 20 persons accessing rehabilitation and treatment services in the country. The agency raised the alarm in a memorandum submitted to the House of Representatives ad hoc Committee investigating the rising cases of drug and substance abuse in Nigeria, warning that stigma and other barriers were keeping women and girls away from care. According to the UNODC, Nigeria’s drug-use prevalence is nearly three times higher than the…

Operatives of the Ibadan Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have arrested five suspected fraudsters, said to be herbalists, and seized counterfeit foreign currencies amounting to $3.43m and €280,000 from them. The suspects—Akingbola Omotayo, Adeola Funsho Ogunrinde, Yahaya Amodu, Kubratu Babalola Olaitan (female) and Familola Sunday Olaitan—were apprehended on December 7 and 8, 2025, at their shrines in Osun and Lagos states following intelligence-led surveillance on their alleged activities. The EFCC said the arrests followed a petition alleging that the suspects, operating as a syndicate, defrauded a victim, Halima Sanni, of ₦26.55m under the guise of offering…

Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has accused operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of carrying out coordinated raids on his offices and private residences in Abuja and Kebbi State, raising concerns over alleged intimidation and abuse of due process. Malami, in a statement issued on Wednesday by his media aide, Mohammed Bello, said the raids followed shortly after his office released a statement drawing attention to Chapter Nine of the Justice Ayo Salami Judicial Commission of Inquiry Report, which he claimed implicates the current EFCC chairman. According to the statement, EFCC…

President Bola Tinubu has forwarded to the Senate the names of two nominees to replace the heads of Nigeria’s key petroleum regulatory agencies following the resignation of their chief executives. The President is seeking the Senate’s confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority. The nominations followed the sudden exit of Engineer Farouk Ahmed, former CEO of the NMDPRA, and Gbenga Komolafe, former head of the NUPRC. Both officials were appointed in 2021 by…

The Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), has again underscored its growing influence in Nigeria’s higher education system with the appointment of one of its senior Registry officers, Mrs Emilomo Joy Alawode, as the new substantive Registrar of McPherson University, Seriki-Sotayo, Ogun State. Alawode, a Deputy Registrar at FUNAAB, was appointed by the Board of Trustees of McPherson University, making her the institution’s third substantive Registrar and further highlighting FUNAAB’s reputation as a training ground for top university administrators across the country. A seasoned administrator, Alawode brings decades of experience in academic administration, governance, human resource management, public relations and…

Former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, narrowly escaped a potentially deadly mob attack on Tuesday while visiting the palace of the District Head of Dutsi in Dutsi Local Government Area, Katsina State. Sirika, who holds the traditional title of Marusan Katsina and serves as district head of Shargalle in Dutsi, was reportedly at the palace on a condolence visit when tensions erupted. Videos circulating online and shared by local media showed an agitated crowd gathering inside and outside the palace, with one man reportedly dragged from the premises amid shouting. The former minister was quickly whisked away in a Honda…