Author: Platform Times Newspaper

Fawaz Adebisi A prominent Ogun State-based radio presenter, Akinyemi Olatoye popularly called Alawiye, has explained that his annual Alagbawi Nla Praise Festival is driven by a deep sense of faith, gratitude, and commitment to humanitarian service. Speaking during his radio programme on Friday, Alawiye said the event, held every March 30 to mark his birthday, was conceived as a platform to bring people together in collective worship and thanksgiving. He noted that beyond its spiritual significance, the festival also serves as an avenue to support vulnerable members of society, particularly widows. According to him, the outreach component of the programme…

Daud Olatunji The Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, has unveiled plans to fully digitise its campus and empower students with startup funding, as part of efforts to reposition the institution as a hub for innovation and job creation. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ayodeji Agboola, disclosed this on Friday during the maiden OOU Future Tech Conference themed “The Next Frontier: Building Africa’s Digital Future,” which attracted over 2,000 participants at the Otunba Gbenga Daniel Hall. He said the university had commenced the installation of fibre-optic infrastructure across the campus to ensure fast and reliable internet connectivity, adding that the project…

Prominent leaders in Egbaland have intensified calls for strict adherence to Ogun State’s power rotation principle, warning against what they described as an emerging attempt to concentrate governorship power in Iperu ahead of the 2027 elections. The leaders, in a Lisabi Day 2026 message issued by Otunba Segun Showunmi, said allowing any locality to dominate the governorship beyond the established balance would be “irrational, unjust and politically destabilising.” They stressed that Ogun’s political stability had long been sustained by an unwritten but respected power-sharing arrangement among the Egba, Ijebu/Remo and Yewa/Awori blocs, cautioning that any disruption to the arrangement could…

In a decisive move to tackle Nigeria’s worsening electricity crisis and spiralling energy costs, the Olu of Ilawo Kingdom in Abeokuta, Oba Prof. Alexander Olusegun MacGregor, has converted his palace to a solar-powered facility. The transition, described as one of the first of its kind among royal institutions in Egba land, signals a growing shift towards renewable energy as households and organisations grapple with erratic power supply and rising diesel expenses. Findings showed that before the switch, the palace reportedly spent over ₦100,000 daily on diesel and about ₦2.8m monthly on electricity—figures that mirror the burden faced by many Nigerians…

Zainab Abioye An advocacy group, She Leads Advocates, has ramped up calls for female deputy governors across Nigeria to be given priority consideration for governorship positions ahead of the 2027 general elections, arguing that they possess the experience and capacity to lead. The group maintained that women serving as deputy governors have acquired critical governance exposure, institutional knowledge and leadership skills required to take over from incumbent governors, having played key roles in policy formulation and implementation in their respective states. The renewed advocacy comes amid increasing visibility of female political actors within major parties, particularly the All Progressives Congress,…

Fawaz Adebisi D.S. Adegbenro ICT Polytechnic, Itori-Ewekoro, Ogun State, on Thursday celebrated the institution’s 20th anniversary of academic operations, matriculating 2,400 fresh students for the 2025/2026 academic session. As gathered during rhe ceremony, held at the polytechnic’s Mass Communication Complex, 1,300 National Diploma, ND, and 1,100 Higher National Diploma, HND, students were admitted across the Schools of Engineering and Sciences, Management Sciences, Communication and Information Technology, and Environmental Studies. Describing the occasion as a milestone, the Rector, Prof. Adegoke Akeem Rauf, said the 20th matriculation represented more than an academic ritual. In his words, this occasion marks not just another…

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has unveiled a groundbreaking telecoms identity risk management system (TIRMS) designed to curb fraud linked to mobile numbers and enhance digital security across financial and service sectors. At a stakeholders’ forum in Abuja, NCC Executive Vice Chairman Aminu Maida said the platform would offer a unified framework to manage risks arising from the misuse of mobile numbers, which have become crucial identifiers for financial transactions, online services, and digital verification. Maida explained that vulnerabilities caused by recycled, swapped, or fraudulently used SIM cards had become a major avenue for financial crimes and identity theft. “The…

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a stern warning to the Federal Government, threatening to embark on an industrial action if the newly approved salary structure for university lecturers is not implemented within four days. ASUU President, Christopher Piwuna, disclosed the ultimatum on Thursday while delivering a public lecture in Bauchi State. He noted that the agreement, reached in December 2025, was supposed to take effect from January 2026 but has yet to be enforced. “We have issued a four-day ultimatum from today to the Federal Government to commence payment of the newly approved salary structure. Failure…

Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has raised concerns over internal divisions within the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), warning that unchecked egos, competing ambitions, and external interference could undermine the party’s cohesion ahead of the 2027 general elections. In an exclusive interview  on Thursday, Saraki highlighted the unique challenges of managing an opposition party, noting that unlike ruling parties, opposition politics lacks a centralized command structure, making consensus-building more complex and demanding compromises from all stakeholders “In a ruling party, decision-making tends to follow a command-and-control structure. But in an opposition party, there is no clear superiority. It requires negotiation, patience,…

…Comment Triggers Nationwide Backlash …DHQ Says Stance Aligns With Global Best Practices …Experts Warn Stance May Embolden Insurgency Daud Olatunji The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Olufemi Oluyede, on Thursday sparked nationwide debate after asserting that terrorists operating in Nigeria should be rehabilitated rather than killed, stressing the need to give insurgents a chance to repent. Oluyede made the remarks at the inaugural lecture of the Joint Doctrine and Warfare Centre at the Nigerian Army Conference Centre, Abuja, defending the Federal Government’s deradicalisation initiative, Operation SAFE CORRIDOR. He likened insurgents to the biblical prodigal son, arguing that denying them…