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President Tinubu Can’t Be Accused Of Religious Bigotry — Majeed Dahiru

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A public affairs analyst, Majeed Dahiru, says President Bola Tinubu cannot be accused of religious bigotry.

Dahiru, who spoke as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today, explained that Tinubu in his capacity as the Commander-in-Chief, has mobilised the military to tackle security threats within two years in office.

“President Tinubu has not by any sense of imagination been accused of religious bigotry or having sympathy with Islamist jihadist terror groups,” he said.

“Absolutely not. You can criticise him for every other thing but nobody can actually criticise him for this because he does not qualify for such criticism.

“That alone is something to bargain to say, ‘Look, I am the President of this country. I am the Commander-in-Chief. There is no way I will preside over a country and sit idly and allow, encourage the killings of Christians,” Dahiru stated.

He, however, noted that while some Christians were being killed in parts of the country, there had been gains recorded in the fight against insurgency.

READ ALSO: Approach Nigeria’s Situation With Understanding, FG Tells Trump

Trump’s Claims

On October 31, United States President Donald Trump said Christianity faced an existential threat in Nigeria, describing the alleged killing as a “mass slaughter”.

“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed.

“Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” he wrote.

The US president added that the United States “cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening” and directed Congressman Riley Moore and House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole to investigate the matter.

“I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘country of particular concern.’ But that is the least of it. When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 Worldwide), something must be done!

“I am asking Congressman Riley Moore, together with Chairman Tom Cole and the House Appropriations Committee, to immediately look into this matter and report back to me.

“The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria and numerous other Countries. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World!” Trump wrote.

Lagos To Lunch ‘Ounje Eko’ Farmers’ Subsidy Phase II

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The Lagos State Government has announced plans to launch the second phase of the ‘Ounje Eko’ Farmers’ Subsidy Programme before the end of November this year to support farmers across the state and ensure they have access to quality feed to boost their production.

This was announced by the Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Abisola Olusanya, during a press conference at Alausa, Ikeja.

READ ALSO: Yuletide: Lagos Launches 24-Hour Traffic Control, Clears Illegal Structures

The commissioner said the programme was a critical intervention of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration aimed at sustaining food production, empowering farmers, and stabilising food prices across Lagos, particularly during the yuletide season.

Olusanya added that the results of the first phase of the subsidy programme launched earlier this year were resounding, as over 5,000 farmers benefited directly from the intervention.

The commissioner also said that over 993.3 metric tons of poultry feed and 265.65 metric tons of fish feed were supplied.

According to her, the programme sustained the production of 258,000-layer birds, resulting in over seven million eggs produced and 177,100 catfish.

Egg prices, she said, dropped from ₦6,000 per crate to between ₦5,000 and ₦5,400.

A map of Lagos State

Olusanya stated that building on this success, Governor Sanwo-Olu approved the implementation of the ‘Ounje Eko’ Farmers’ Subsidy Programme Phase II, expanding its reach and scope to provide greater impact and support to farmers across different value chains.

The commissioner further explained that phase two would include interventions like a 25 per cent subsidy on poultry feed layer mash, broiler starter and finisher
25 per cent subsidy on fish feed.

Others are free distribution of grains to pig farmers across the state to support livestock nutrition and sustainability, and distribution of agricultural equipment and inputs to crop farming clusters across the state to enhance mechanisation and reduce manual labour.

She emphasised that the programme would cut across 10 locations in the state, including Farm Service Centre, Agege; Agricultural Training Institute, Araga; Epe Coconut House, Mowo; Badagry Fish Farm Estate, Odongunyan, Ikorodu; Erikorodo Poultry Estate, Ikorodu; Aiyedoto Poultry Estate, Ojo; Ministry of Agriculture Cooperative Office, Ajah; and the Armed Forces Resettlement Centre.

As with the first phase, the commissioner explained that participation will be restricted to recognised and registered farmer associations such as the Poultry Association of Nigeria, Lagos State Chapter (PAN-LAG), Lagos State Catfish Allied Farmers Association of Nigeria (LASCAFAN) and Farm Estate and Settlement Associations to ensure transparency and accountability.

The state government advised farmers to register with the necessary associations to benefit from this support.

White House explores $2,000 tariff dividend; budget experts are sceptical

United States President Donald Trump is committed to providing Americans with $2,000 cheques using money that has come into government coffers from Trump’s tariffs.

On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump’s staff is exploring how to go about making the plan a reality.

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The president proposed the idea on his Truth Social media platform on Sunday, five days after his Republican Party lost elections in Virginia, New Jersey and elsewhere largely because of voter discontent with his economic stewardship — specifically, the high cost of living.

A new AP-NORC poll finds that 67 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy, while 33 percent approve.

The tariffs are bringing in so much money, the president posted, that “a dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone.’’

“Trump has taken to his favorite policymaking forum, Truth Social, to make yet another guarantee that Americans are going to receive dividend [cheques] from the revenues collected by tariffs,” Alex Jacquez, who served on the National Economic Council under former US President Joe Biden, said in a statement provided to Al Jazeera.

“It’s interesting that Trump’s arguments—which he has been pushing forward for several months now on Truth Social—do not match the arguments that his lawyers are making in court. It seems he is trying to pressure the Justices by implying that this will be some massive economic disaster if they rule against the tariffs.”

Budget experts have scoffed at Trump’s tariff dividend plan, which conjured memories of the Trump administration’s short-lived plan for Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) dividend cheques financed by billionaire Elon Musk’s federal budget cuts.

“The numbers just don’t check out,″ Erica York, vice president of federal tax policy at the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, told the Associated Press.

Details are scarce, including what the income limits would be and whether payments would go to children.

Even Trump’s US Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, sounded a bit blindsided by the audacious dividend plan.

Appearing on Sunday on the ABC News programme This Week, Bessent said he hadn’t discussed the dividend with the president and suggested that it might not mean that Americans would get a cheque from the government. Instead, Bessent said, the rebate might take the form of tax cuts.

The tariffs are certainly raising money — $195bn in the budget year that ended September 30, up 153 percent from $77bn in fiscal 2024. But they still account for less than four percent of federal revenue, and have done little to dent the federal budget deficit, a staggering $1.8 trillion in fiscal 2025.

Budget wonks say Trump’s dividend math doesn’t work.

John Ricco, an analyst with the Budget Lab at Yale University, reckons that Trump’s tariffs will bring in $200bn to $300bn a year in revenue. But a $2,000 dividend — if it went to all Americans, including children — would cost $600bn. “It’s clear that the revenue coming in would not be adequate,” Ricco said.

The analyst also noted that Trump couldn’t just pay the dividends on his own. That would require legislation from Congress.

Moreover, the centrepiece of Trump’s protectionist trade policies — double-digit taxes on imports from almost every country in the world — may not survive a legal challenge that has reached the US Supreme Court.

In a hearing last week, the court’s justices sounded sceptical about the Trump administration’s assertion of sweeping power to declare national emergencies to justify the tariffs. Trump has bypassed Congress, which has authority under the US Constitution to levy taxes, including tariffs.

If the court strikes down the tariffs, the Trump administration may be refunding money to the importers who paid them, not sending dividend cheques to American families. Trump could find other ways to impose tariffs, even if he loses at the Supreme Court, but it could be cumbersome and time-consuming.

Mainstream economists and budget analysts note that tariffs are paid by US importers who then generally try to pass along the cost to their customers through higher prices.

White House: Epstein emails ‘prove nothing’

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White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt says emails released by House Democrats from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to others about President Trump “prove absolutely nothing.” On his Truth Social platform, Trump called it a “hoax” meant to distract from the government shutdown.

Cardiff to host opening match of Euro 2028

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Cardiff will host the opening game of Euro 2028, with the semi-finals and final scheduled to take place at London’s Wembley Stadium.

Nine venues across four host nations – England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland – will stage the 24-team tournament.

Matches were also set to be played in Northern Ireland, but Belfast’s Casement Park was removed as an option because of a lack of funding.

Uefa’s decision to play the first game in the Welsh capital was confirmed as the tournament was officially launched on Wednesday.

Football Association of Wales chief executive Noel Mooney said: “This will be the first time that ‘The Red Wall’ – our passionate Wales fans – will experience a major international tournament on home soil.

“It’s a truly historic occasion that will unite communities, inspire future generations and showcase the very best of Welsh football and culture on the world stage.”

Unlike in previous Euros, host nations will have to qualify for the 2028 tournament, however, they would be guaranteed to play their group games on home turf if they do so directly.

The four host nations will each be in separate qualifying groups, with two spots also allocated to the highest-ranked of those sides who don’t make it from their various qualification routes.

The last-16 games will take place at each host stadium except Wembley, meaning England would face a match away from the national stadium if they reached the first knockout round.

The quarter-finals will be held at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Glasgow’s Hampden Park and Wembley – which was also used as a semi-final and final venue in 1996, and for the delayed 2020 edition.

Etihad Stadium, where the Three Lions would play their opening group game if they qualify directly, before switching to Wembley, is one of five other stadiums being used in England.

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Villa Park, Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium and St James’ Park in Newcastle are the others that will be utilised across the 51 matches overall.

The qualifying draw will take place in Belfast on 6 December 2026.

Speaking at a launch event, Debbie Hewitt, chair of UK & Ireland 2028 Limited, promised to deliver the “best ever” European Championship.

She added: “It will be a tournament for the fans and a festival of everything we love about the game – its passion and ability to bring people together.”

    • 32 minutes ago
    • 3 November

Tournament to bring ‘billions in economic benefits’

The UK government says it is investing £557m to hold the tournament but expects a return of £3.2bn due to the creation of jobs, regional growth and benefits from international visitors.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “Euro 2028 will be the biggest sporting event ever jointly hosted by the UK and Ireland and, as a lifelong football fan, I know how much international competitions like this matter.

“This tournament will bring fans from across Europe to iconic footballing cities like Birmingham and Glasgow, inspire the next generation to lace up their boots, and deliver billions in economic benefits.”

With an average stadium capacity of just under 60,000, Uefa predicts that more supporters than ever before will attend matches at a European Championship finals.

Mark Bullingham, the Football Association’s chief executive, said: “The scale of the tournament will have a really positive impact on communities throughout the country.”

His counterpart at the Football Association of Ireland, David Courell, added: “Our amazing fans are known for their passion and we look forward to providing them, as well as the hundreds of thousands of people who will visit Ireland for the tournament, with the type of euphoric experience that they will never forget.”

The head of the Scottish Football Association, Ian Maxwell, said: “We talk a lot about the power of football and the impact it can make on a daily basis across Scotland, far beyond the confines of a pitch.

Analysis – ‘tantalising prospect’ for Scotland

After years of watching major tournament after major tournament pass Scotland by, a second opportunity to compete in a European Championship finals on home soil is a tantalising prospect.

That first chance came four years ago in the pandemic-delayed Euro 2020, with bitterly disappointing defeats by the Czech Republic and Croatia undermining progression. Social distancing made for an eerie feeling inside a sparsely populated Hampden Park.

Sold-out crowds in Glasgow would be an altogether different prospect. With qualification still to be earned for Euro 2028, two spots held in reserve for host countries gives the four home nations a fallback option if required. It’s an incredible opportunity for Scotland.

Related topics

  • UEFA Euro 2024
  • Football

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