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Nigerian owners of Taste Africana, Cynthia and Bright Chinule, face deportation from UK over visa fees

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4 weeks ago

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Cynthia and Bright Chinule, with three children, a Nigerian family based in Leigh, the United Kingdom, UK, fears they will be kicked out of the country if they don’t raise enough money to pay for new visas. Their visas expire in 11 days.

The couple, who run Taste Africana, a popular restaurant in the town, say they have just over two weeks to raise just under £26,000 or they could be forced to return to Nigeria after six years of building a life in England.

Their financial troubles began last year after the roof of the first building their restaurant was based in suddenly caved in just two months after opening.

Luckily, they were able to find a new home just minutes away on Market Street, where they have been operating since November 11.

However, according to Bright, the financial effects mean they have been unable to keep on top of the rising cost of living, visa fees, and immigration health surcharge payments, which is a fee paid by migrants who live in the UK for more than six months.

“They’ve put up the immigration charges, health insurance used to be around £300 per year,” explained Bright.

“It’s gone all the way up to around £1,800 per person, per year. Think about me who’s got a family of five. If I add visa application fees and lawyer fees it brings everything to up to around £26k.

“The visa expires in 12 days (11 days today) so we need to at least put in an application the night before. At this stage we just don’t have the money to do that.

“The target is to get enough money to get the whole visa thing fixed to give us some peace of mind. The idea that there is a possibility of being kicked out after six years of work has drained all the peace out of me. It takes a huge toll on you, honestly.”

‘How we started’
Before opening, Taste Africana was ‘Home Food UK’, an online takeaway operating from Cynthia and Bright’s kitchen at their home on Glebe Street, after the couple moved to the area in 2021 to raise their young family.

A former maths teacher, Cynthia was the first to suggest going into the food sector when she was on maternity leave and realised she wouldn’t be able to go back to work as a teaching assistant and look after their children.

She started Home Food UK, which proved a big hit. With two master’s degrees and a career in the NHS, Bright also took the leap to support Cynthia in running Taste Africana.

But the family are now facing the possibility of restarting their lives in Nigeria should they fail to submit applications before the deadline after six years of trying to build something in the UK.

Seeks help
To help with the fees, the Chinules went on the internet to solicit funds as a last resort. Bright created a GoFundMe to raise the £25,620 with hopes that his past generosity will pay forward.

“I never thought I’d do this,” Bright wrote.

“As someone who has always tried to stand on my own, it’s not easy for me to ask for help. But with only 14 days left to secure the necessary funds, I’ve come to realize that I can’t do this alone.

“Over the years, I’ve tried to give back to the community in every way possible — offering hot meals to rough sleepers during the cold winter months, supporting struggling families with food donations, and more.

“And I promise to continue paying this kindness forward,” part of the GoFundMe read.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Our visa fees have been informed by the principle that those who use and benefit from the immigration system should contribute towards the cost of operating it, reducing the level of UK taxpayer funding that would otherwise be required.”

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Mercy Johnson under fire for campaigning for APC’s Okpebholo

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22 hours ago

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September 14, 2024 12:29 pm

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Mercy Johnson-Okojie, the Nollywood actress, has been criticised on social media for campaigning for Monday Okpebholo, the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate in the upcoming Edo election.

A now-viral video shows Mercy soliciting votes for Okpebholo at a rally. She also assured the crowd that the APC gubernatorial candidate will “bring positive changes” to the state.

“Are you not tired? No light, water, healthcare, security and good roads. If you will vote for senator Monday, raise your hand,” she said.

“…So when you get to that field early in the morning, vote for Monday, vote for APC, vote for the broom.”

The video has triggered backlash on social media with critics slamming the actress for supporting the ruling party despite widespread economic hardship.

“Mercy Johnson is just a cheap opportunistic agbero with zero class and zero morality in my opinion. Imagine supporting blabbing Tinubu and now also supporting Illiterate Monday Okpebholo of all people. Talent is really not enough,” an X user wrote.

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Justin Timberlake sentenced to community service for drink-driving offence

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23 hours ago

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September 14, 2024 11:36 am

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Pop star Justin Timberlake was sentenced to community service on Friday after pleading guilty to a drink-driving charge, according to US media reports.

The 43-year-old was arrested on 18 June in Sag Harbor, approximately 100 miles east of New York City, after police observed his BMW running a stop sign and swerving between lanes.

In August, Timberlake pleaded not guilty to driving while intoxicated during a virtual court appearance before a judge, who ordered the suspension of his driver’s licence in New York state, US media reported.

However, Sag Harbor Village Justice Court justice Carl Irace later handed Timberlake a community service sentence and ordered the star to make a public statement after he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of driving while alcohol-impaired, The New York Post reported.

The officer who pulled over the “Cry Me a River” singer said Timberlake was in no fit state to drive.

“His eyes were bloodshot and glassy, a strong odour of an alcoholic beverage was emanating from his breath, he was unable to divide attention, his speech was slow, he was unsteady on his feet, and he performed poorly on all standardised field sobriety tests,” the police report stated.

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Patoranking’s sister and husband die in gas explosion, leaving 3-year-old son

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2 days ago

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September 13, 2024 12:47 pm

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The Police Command in Ebonyi, says the explosion that claimed the lives of a couple, Mr and Mrs George Onuabuchi in Abakaliki, Ebonyi’s capital was from a gas cylinder and not from an inverter battery.

DSP Joshua Ukandu, spokesman of the Command in the state told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Thursday that the incident occurred on August 25. Ukandu said that a preliminary investigation showed that the couple died from a gas explosion.

“It happened on the waterworks axis in Abakaliki on August 25. The residents living around the scene called the attention of our personnel who visited the place but the couple has already been taken to hospital.

“It’s very unfortunate that both finally died. The wife, Chioma died sometime in August while the husband died this month, September.

“We gathered that the wife was a younger sister to the popular Nigerian Afrobeat singer, Patoranking.

“There are no much details because the victims could not survive to tell the story. So, what killed them was gas and not inverter explosion,” the police spokesman explained.

Also speaking with NAN one of the relatives who refused to mention his name described the incident as bad for the family.

“They were young couple. They had only a child, a three-year-old son.

“Please I have more to say. I cannot say more than this. They have gone,” the relative said.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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