This strategy is bond to fail because it lacks empathy.
Brightest04: What surprises me is why some Nigerians are yet to see the evil handwriting on the wall. It's a new strategy since they know that the 2023 style of "snatch it and run away with it" may likely not work for them again.
Enoch Adeboye, general overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), has defended President Bola Tinubu against criticism over insecurity.
Speaking at the US-Nigeria faith heroes award gala organised by the Save Nigeria Group on June 23 in Washington, Adeboye said Tinubu has fulfilled his responsibility by directing the military and should not be expected to fight on the frontlines
“I need to make this one clear: I don’t support those who are accusing the president of not doing enough. When the commander-in-chief has given instructions to his subordinates, he has done his bit. You don’t expect him to go and put on khaki and (fight),” Adeboye said. “When my friend Trump gives instructions to go and bomb anywhere, he doesn’t leave the White House. He has done his bit. ‘I hereby command, bomb Iran’, and then he goes to his bedroom and sleeps. The rest is left to the supporters.”
Adeboye said he stood by his position despite terrorism creeping closer to his doorstep.
“Things have gone far, far worse than before the bomb came,” he added, citing the US bombing on Islamist terrorists in Nigeria last December.
“Far, far worse… so bad that they are asking: ‘Where is your God?’ That is how bad it is. [/b]
[b]'' The terrorism, kidnapping, and so on that were in the north are now even at my doorstep. They have come all the way down to the south. And, of course, the sponsors — they are all known, and they are still moving about freely.”
Adeboye said he discussed the country’s security crisis with Tinubu and Oluremi, the first lady, who is also an RCCG pastor.
He said he told the Nigerian leader to issue directives to military officers across the armed forces and set a 90-day ultimatum: “Wipe out this rubbish or resign. And then take care of the supporters, the sponsors”.
The RCCG overseer referred to the sponsors of terrorism as wealthy people.
You know them,” he said in reference to a separate public call to the presidency.
“Some of them are businessmen. Some of them are politicians. Go after them. Because if you do not deal with those who are supplying these people with arms and ammunition — and most of the time, when they go about, they go about on motorcycles — if we don’t go after the sponsors, the problem will continue.”
Adeboye urged the US to work with other countries to help Nigeria combat terrorism
Deregistration: NDC case orchestrated, filed two days after Peter Obi joined party — Rufai Oseni
Arise Television’s anchor, Rufai Oseni, has alleged that the legal challenge against the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, was orchestrated to weaken the opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking on The Morning Show on Arise Television on Monday, Oseni claimed the timing of the lawsuit challenging the party’s registration raised questions, noting that it was filed two days after Peter Obi joined the NDC.
According to him, Obi officially joined the party on May 3, while the suit seeking to nullify the NDC registration was instituted on May 5 by what he described as a “faceless group.”
The broadcaster said the development followed what he called a familiar pattern, alleging that similar legal actions had been taken against opposition parties in recent months.
He questioned the circumstances surrounding the suit, arguing that groups now challenging the party’s registration had not previously raised objections.
Oseni also referenced the court proceedings involving the ADC, saying the judgment had attracted criticism.
He urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to issue the necessary code that would enable the party to upload required documents, warning that any action perceived as limiting opposition participation could undermine public confidence in the electoral process.
He maintained that the sequence of events surrounding Obi’s defection to the NDC and the subsequent court case suggested a coordinated effort against the opposition, although he did not provide evidence to substantiate the allegation.
Oseni said: “Let me start with NDC registration. I’m not surprised. I think I predicted it here. I said it. More will happen.
“You know why? There’s a grand attempt to ensure that opposition is weakened before the election, write it down. Grand attempt.
“Have you scrutinised the judgement? Have you seen the CTC?
“Peter Obi went to the NDC on the 3rd of May, that case was filed on the 5th of May in court. A lot of people have not even scrutinised that part.
“I said Peter Obi officially went to the NDC on the 3rd of May. The case was filed on the 5th of May by yet again another, you know, faceless group, and all of that, just like the one with the ADC, the same pattern. I said Peter Obi officially went to the NDC on the 3rd of May. The case was filed on the 5th of May by yet again another, you know, faceless group, and all of that, just like the one with the ADC, the same pattern.
“Like I predicted, since then nothing has happened to Justice Lifu. The only thing he got was a reprimand by the Court of Appeal, verbal reprimand
'' This too will go like that, so it’s a direct orchestration. I think the opposition party should not sleep, they’re going to have more.
“I mean, we’ve all seen the judgement. I don’t want to go into legalism, it falls flat on its face again. The NDC has said they’re going to get a stay of execution. Let’s see
I would like to advise INEC, please give them the issuance code. It’s not a big deal. Let parties be able to upload, because everything is looking like a grand conspiracy when you look at this election cycle, and I don’t know why some people are jittery. If you are confident, let opposition into the race. Don’t hold them back. Don’t do anything
“In case your advisers are not advising you people well, you’re already tainting the credibility of the election by the time the elections will come. Anything that happens, these are part of the stories we are going to tell''
''So, if you feel you can win, win freely, nobody’s holding you from winning, but all of this shenanigan, all of this kangaroo manipulation, and all of that, it’s not fair.
“It goes back to our initial premise that a lot of people try defending “Oh, they are not attacking the opposition, they themselves have their own internal squabble.”
OK how many SME can pay 3000 naira per he in 9gria
Pacesetter123: That's a lie,a very big one at that. Which $2 is equivalent to #4,000? I just changed dol and it's #1,400 per dol. So $2 is #2,800. Stop misleading the reading public!
Many international fans visiting the US for the World Cup have become frustrated by the culture of tipping servers, telling the BBC that tipping fatigue has set in
England supporter Geoff Pryor said he understood tipping for good service, but he found it "weird" when buying a bottle of water and "they try to get a tip for doing nothing".
In the US, staff at some restaurants and bars are paid just over $2 (£1.50) an hour, and they expect customers to tip about 20% of the total cost of the bill so they can earn a living.
Frustrations have also been shared by hospitality staff, with one bar owner telling the BBC that many World Cup tourists have been bad tippers.
Australian supporters Chris O'Flynn and Robert McNamara told the BBC that high ticket prices for football matches have drained their finances, and paying tips is driving up expenses.
"I still find it a bit confusing why it exists... In Australia you have a flat fee, and you pay it. Here people ask for, or expect, tips. Sometimes you don't know how much you're supposed to tip," O'Flynn said.
"The way most Australians here feel is: Pay your staff a better wage. It should be on the business, not the customer, to make sure that your staff is well paid."
McNamara said they try to "abide by the customs" as visitors, but tipping has been a culture shock.
"They're expecting a tip after every drink so it gets expensive very quick. You're buying a drink and adding $5 on. It's difficult to comprehend."
Fan says the prices without tips are already expensive
Pryor, an England supporter from Norwich, is travelling around the US for the tournament. He said despite his frustrations at being asked to tip for a bottle of water, he did understand the need to tip at restaurants
"I appreciate they're not paid as much as perhaps back in the UK, but overall the service is generally good, so when it's good they deserve a good tip," he said.
Maiko Asahi and her family are visiting from Tokyo to watch Japan play in Dallas, and told the BBC that tipping is not something they do back home. "The prices without the tips are already very expensive, with tipping it is way too much," Asahi said.
Another Japanese fan, Akihiro who is travelling with his son, also complained about high prices.
"Even the cheapest meal at a restaurant still costs around $30, and when you add on a tip of say, 13-20% you end up thinking - Oh dear, I could have had another portion for that," he said.
Europeans don't tip like Americans, bar owner says
Banter, a football bar in Brooklyn, sees its fair share of British and European tourists - especially during the World Cup.
But they are notoriously bad tippers, if they tip at all, owner Chris Keller told the BBC.
"It's always the case. There's no getting around it," he said. "There's always a lack of tipping or playing ignorant like they don't know."
Keller said he's changed the system so customers with reservations have to pre-pay for drinks, including a service charge. "It's just to protect our staff," he said.
A United States-based Nigerian social worker, Akeatha Diane Akintola, has been sentenced to five months’ imprisonment for stealing more than $17,000 in Social Security benefits meant for a disabled child placed under her care in Washington State.
PUNCH Metro learnt from a statement issued on June 18 by the US Attorney’s Office, Western District of Washington, that Akintola, 48, pleaded guilty to theft of public funds after unlawfully diverting $17,638 intended for a minor with intellectual disabilities.
The department stated that Akintola was taken into custody immediately after her plea and sentencing hearing before Magistrate Judge Kate Vaughan.
The statement noted that at the sentencing hearing, Vaughan condemned the offence, saying she was struck by the fact that Akintola had targeted a vulnerable victim.
It noted that court records showed that Akintola became a social worker for the Snoqualmie Tribe in January 2023 and later applied to become the Social Security Representative Payee for a minor child under the tribe’s care.
The statement added that the child’s mother had died, leaving survivor benefits for the child with a prohibition for social workers from serving as representative payees for children under the tribe’s care.
The statement noted that despite the prohibition, prosecutors said Akintola used the child’s Social Security number and her information to secure the appointment and redirected the benefits into a bank account she controlled.
The attorney’s office stated that she spent the funds on personal expenses, including purchases at a retailer in North Bend, Washington.
The statement read in part, “In September 2023, Akintola applied by telephone to be the Social Security representative payee for a minor child with intellectual disabilities who was a ward of the tribe.
“The Tribe prohibits its social workers from becoming a representative payee for any child under its care. Nevertheless, Akintola used the child’s Social Security number and her own to apply to be the minor child’s representative payee.” The attorney’s office stated that she spent the funds on personal expenses, including purchases at a retailer in North Bend, Washington.
The US noted that the theft was uncovered in July 2024 when Akintola accompanied her supervisor to the Social Security Administration to inquire about the child’s missing benefits.
According to prosecutors, Social Security officials informed them that Akintola was listed as the child’s representative payee, but she denied the claim before resigning from her position the following day.
The department further disclosed that Akintola failed to appear for an earlier plea and sentencing hearing scheduled for May 22, 2026.
The statement added, “Prosecutors learnt she had left the U.S. on May 20, 2026, and travelled to Togo in West Africa using a passport issued in a different last name.
Akintola appeared for the plea and sentencing hearing yesterday (July 15), and Judge Vaughan ultimately ordered her into custody to begin serving the sentence immediately.”
The statement noted that a representative of the Snoqualmie Tribe told the court that Akintola had abused the trust reposed in her as a social worker and exploited a grieving child for financial gain.
It added that the representative said the stolen funds were intended to support the child’s future independence and well-being and that the victim was an autistic child who depended on the benefits for support following the death of the mother.
“In our profession, a social worker is meant to be a safekeeper. A protector for children who have been stripped of their safety, family, and stability.
“Ms Akintola did not just fail in that duty; she weaponised her position of power to systematically steal from a grieving, autistic child. This money was not a luxury. It was a lifeline.”
The attorney’s office said Akintola was ordered to pay $17,638 in restitution to the Social Security Administration.
She was also barred from ever serving as a Social Security representative payee in the future.
anonimi: Trump and American lawmakers are way better than Tinubu and Nigerian lawmakers who only know how to stand on his mandate to rubber stamp loan requests and other things from Aso Rock.
Do you think that is just a coincidence or is it about the people of the two countries
Sensiblerealist: The guy has always been a proud, egoistic and bossy one. I once saw his interview around 2003 but I suppose the video was made way before that. It was a documentary of world billionaires that owned luxury items like yachts, private jets etc. The way he conducted himself was so condescending and that was my first real life impression of a white Imperialist minded person.
Trump’s Capitol visit devolves into shouting match with GOP senator he helped oust in primary fight
In the month since President Donald Trump put a decisive end to Sen. Bill Cassidy’s congressional career, the Louisiana senator has become one of the president’s sharpest critics in the halls of the US Capitol.
But as they stood face to face in a Wednesday meeting at the Capitol, the two Republicans unleashed anger at each other in a shouting match in front of dozens of their Senate GOP colleagues.
The testy back-and-forth began, according to Cassidy, as Trump demanded to know why members of his own party — including Cassidy — voted with Democrats a day earlier to rebuke the president’s military authority in Iran.
“I stood and said, ‘You have not told the American people what’s going on,’” Cassidy recalled after the meeting, describing what he told the president behind closed doors. “It was supposed to last four weeks, it’s lasted four months. Our original objectives have not been achieved, and I want to know what’s going on.”
From there, according to multiple sources in the room, a furious Trump went after Cassidy, raising his voice. Cassidy recalled that he “lost his temper” and was shouting back at the same “tone and volume” as the president.
At one point inside the luncheon, Trump ordered Cassidy to sit down — but Cassidy refused, another source said. Trump then called him a “lunatic.” In return, Cassidy shouted at Trump, in one instance referring to Trump as his “brother.” Trump told him he wasn’t his “brother” — and eventually Cassidy sat down.
Hours later, however, the Louisiana Republican switched his vote on a similar Iran war powers resolution, voting against advancing it and allowing Republicans to effectively walk back their rebuke of the president.
His vote came after he said he’d received a “thorough briefing” on Iran from Vice President JD Vance and special envoy Steve Witkoff. “I appreciate the quick invitation to the White House to address many of my concerns,” Cassidy wrote on X.
Still, the tense, roughly 70-minute meeting between Trump and GOP senators earlier Wednesday reflected rising tensions as the president has repeatedly upended key pieces of the Republican agenda on Capitol Hill. While Trump has spent much of his second term circumventing Congress to satisfy his own aims — from firing federal workers, blowing up budgets, even waging a war — a growing bloc within his party is willing to say they’ve had enough.
Politics › Re: NDC Case Orchestrated, Filed Two Days After Peter Obi Joined Party — Rufai Oseni by Ironfaceman(op): 10:30am On Jun 30
very good. Give those jihadist a run for their money.
Haba na...