NPP Primaries: Musician Obour Defeated

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June 22, 2020

Former Musicians Union of Ghana President, Bice Osei Kuffour, Obour has been defeated heavily in the NPP primaries in the Asante Akyem South Constituency of the Ashanti Region.

Obour contested with three other people including the incumbent Member of Parliament Hon. Kwaku Asante Boateng, who has served two terms on the ticket of the NPP.

Provisional results showed that Obour has been defeated in the primaries.

The results are as follow:

Kwaku Asante Boateng— 360 votes

Bice Osei Kuffour (Obour)— 296 votes

Edmund— 9 votes

William— 32 votes

Amofa— 8 votes

AG wants case challenging NDC’s celebration of 31st December Revolution dismissed

Ellis Ferdinand

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June 22, 2020

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AG wants case challenging NDC’s celebration of 31st December Revolution dismissed

The Attorney General (AG) is seeking to back the National Democratic Congress in a suit challenging the continuous commemoration of the 31st December 1981 coup d’état that toppled the Administration of Dr. Hilla Limann.

Constitutional law advocate and Professor of Accounting, Stephen Kwaku Asare is in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the annual celebration or commemoration of an event he argues is inconsistent with the letter and spirit of the 1992 Constitution.

He is ultimately asking the Apex Court to direct the NDC to cease and desist from holding the annual ceremonies.

At its last hearing on Wednesday, June 17, 2020, the Supreme Court directed the Attorney General to immediately file legal arguments on the matter.

Check This Out: I gave each delegate GHc550, Titus Glover gave tabletop fridges plus GHc1,000 – Ashitey Armah

In a proposed statement of claim filed by the Attorney General, signed by Chief State Attorney, Grace M-Ewoal, and sighted by Citi News, the Attorney-General argues that, Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare has no case.

In a what could best be described as an AG’s push for a technical knock-out, the AG wants the Court to believe and to rule that Professor Asare failed to demonstrate how the NDC’s annual celebration or commemoration of the 31st December Coup d’état offends the 1992 Constitution as such warrants the Court’s orders.

Check This Out: NPP Primaries: Defeated candidate takes back 250 bicycles he donated to delegates, party executives

The Attorney General, according to the sighted proposed statement of claim, will also be arguing that the “use of public space which is funded or maintained with the public funds to commemorate the event defeats the purpose of the decision in NPP v. Attorney-General which seeks to bar the use of public funds in the celebration of the event.”

Check This Out: BoG’s appeal in GN Savings & Loans case dismissed; ordered to justify license revocation

Meanwhile, the Attorney-General has asked the Court for more time to enable it file its Statement of Case.

In an application to the Court, the Attorney General in acknowledging the failure to file within the stipulated fourteen-day period says it was borne out of administrative lapses and not disrespect to the Court.

CNR

Enam Hadzide deceiving Voltarians about Unknown NPP Projects – NDC

Ellis Ferdinand

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June 22, 2020

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Enam Hadzide deceiving Voltarians about Unknown NPP Projects – NDC

The Keta Constituency leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has criticised the deputy Minister of Information, Hon Enam Hadzide for paddling false information on Jubilee Radio.

Read the Press Statement blelow:

The NDC

PRESS RELEASE
Keta Constituency
6th June 2020
ENAM HADZiDE and THE PROPAGANDA.
We listened to Hon Enam Hadzide with the greatest surprise, the way and the manner, the supposed stateman was just paddling false information on Jubilee Radio.
We in the great NDC within Keta Municipality want to set the record straight with facts.

The Keta seaport has not been captured in the 4 budget statements presented by the Akuffo Addo led Administration.

2.No funding has been sorted for the project.And the project has not been awarded to any contractor, and the tenure of this government is about to end, but our brother Enam is deceiving the good people of the Volta region, meanwhile, a director has been appointed for the said Keta Habour, who is being paid with our taxpayers money.

Check This Out: NPP Primaries: Defeated candidate takes back 250 bicycles he donated to delegates, party executives

Mr Hadzide has enumerated some projects that he claimed were done by his party, the NPP. We were once again surprised at the propaganda with which he has made such a point because most of the projects mentioned by him we’re either done by the NDC completely or they were about to be completed, but no credit was given to NDC.

Check This Out: BoG’s appeal in GN Savings & Loans case dismissed; ordered to justify license revocation

We want to state clearly that NDC has done more projects in the Volta Region, which space would not be enough for me to list them.

We want to encourage the good people of the Volta region to discard the trash put out there by our brother, Enam Hadzide.

Albert Atsu Sosu
Comm, Keta
0553231100

Source: PoliticsGhana.com

Nigerian researchers announce COVID-19 vaccine

Ellis Ferdinand

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June 22, 2020

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Nigerian researchers announce COVID-19 vaccine

Nigerian Universities’ Scientists, under the aegis of COVID-19 Research Group, on Friday announced the discovery of a vaccine for the prevention of Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Addressing a news conference on Friday at Adeleke University, Ede, in Osun, Dr Oladipo Kolawole, Leader of the team, said the vaccine was being developed locally in Africa for Africans.

Kolawole, a Specialist in Medical Virology, Immunology, and Bioinformatics, at Adeleke University, Ede, however, said the vaccine would also work for other continents when unveiled.

He said the study, which led to the discovery of the vaccine, had enjoyed initial funding by the Trinity Immunodeficient Laboratory and Helix Biogen Consult, Ogbomosho, to the tune of about N7.8 million.

Kolawole said the group had been working extensively by exploring the SARS-CoV-2 genome from African countries to select the best possible potential vaccine candidates.

He said after trying out some selected processes of vaccine development, the researchers had been able to choose the best potential vaccine candidates for the SARS-CoV-2 and had made the possible latent vaccine constructs.

On how soon the unnamed vaccine would be unveiled to the public, Kolawole said that it would take a minimum of 18 months.

According to him, this is because a lot of analysis and studies, as well as approvals by medical authorities, were still required.

Also, Prof. Solomon Adebola, the Acting Vice-Chancellor of the university, said the university was poised to assist in the funding of the research with a view to bringing the vaccine to the limelight.

“We are glad that a vaccine that will provide a solution to a global problem like Coronavirus pandemic is coming from the garden.

“It is our passion to be a solution provider to such a global pandemic, and we are ready to throw our weights behind the team and make the vaccine a reality,” Adebola said.

Commenting, Prof. Julius Oloke, the Head, Coordinating Unit of the Research Group and Vice-Chancellor of Precious Cornerstone University, Ibadan, said the vaccine was real.

He said, “It’s a pleasure that we have come together to produce a vaccine at a time that the world is in need of solution to a ravaging pandemic.

“It’s a proof that we are working and not folding our hands or looking away from the problem.

Check This Out: NPP Primaries: Defeated candidate takes back 250 bicycles he donated to delegates, party executives

“The vaccine is real. We have validated it severally. It is targeted at Africans, but will also work for other races.

“It will work. It cannot be faked. This is a result of the determination. It took a lot of scientific efforts.

“The population of those that need vaccines is more than those that need drugs. That is why the research focussed on a vaccine.”

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Source: The Guardian

I gave each delegate GHc550, Titus Glover gave tabletop fridges plus GHc1,000 – Ashitey Armah

Ellis Ferdinand

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June 22, 2020

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I gave each delegate GHc550, Titus Glover gave tabletop fridges plus GHc1,000 – Ashitey Armah

The losing aspirant in the governing New Patriotic Party’s Tema East parliamentary race, Mr Benjamin Ashitey Armah, has said while he gave each of the 767 delegates that voted in the internal polls GHc550, his main contender, the incumbent MP, Mr Daniel Titus-Glover, gave each delegate a tabletop fridge and GHc1,000.

Mr Titus-Glover polled 522 votes to beat Mr Ashitey Armah, who got 233 votes out of a total ballot of 755.

Mr Armah told Kwame Appiah-Kubi on CTV’s Dwabre Mu morning show on Monday, 22 June 2020 that: “I use the little resources I have to do my politics”, adding: “I was able to give each delegate GHc550”.

“He [Titus-Glover] gave each delegate a tabletop fridge, GHc1000 and even went the extra mile to give some delegates in my stronghold an extra GHc500”, he alleged.

“So, you see the money cracy coming in here, which turned the tides in his favour contrary to the predictions of the office of National Security and other research organisations”, he added.

Asked how he got to raise the money to pay the delegates, Mr Ashitey Armah said: “I have been in the shipping industry for a very long time and by the grace of God, I have my own business in the logistics field, so, I do everything according to my financial might”.

As far as he’s concerned, “It is the delegates’ decision that they will go for the money instead of competence”, adding: “These are the same delegates that always come to you to complain that things are not going on well with them and, so, they need some financial help”.

“We don’t use the money to entice the delegates”, he denied, explaining: “We just give them transport and compensate them for the opportunities they may have lost as a result of leaving their homes and jobs to come and vote for you”.

“So, it is just something to motivate them. That is the brain behind it. That is why some of us don’t want to go overboard and pay GHc2,000 or GHc1,500”.

Check This Out: NPP Primaries: Defeated candidate takes back 250 bicycles he donated to delegates, party executives

“Of course, that person [delegate] would have to forego an opportunity to come and work with you or to come and vote for you and, so, you also have to meet that person halfway because he/she could have, perhaps, made more than that amount if he/she had gone to work that day”, he further noted.

“Nevertheless, the delegates are not taken good care of in the party, so, they also feel that that is the time to exact their pound of flesh, which for me, I don’t think is right because it is important to vote for competence over money”, he emphasised.

Mr Ashitey Armah said although he lost, “I’m still a happy person because it is not easy to come up against a piece of the whole party machinery in an election”.

Check This Out: BoG’s appeal in GN Savings & Loans case dismissed; ordered to justify license revocation

“It was clear that the government and party machinery was behind Titus-Glover. Everybody saw it but the elections are over and I have put it behind me. I love the party so much that I don’t want anything to distract the party’s victory in 2020, so, I’ve given it all to God”.

“I’ve congratulated Titus-Glover. I’ve also said that we have a common goal and one common enemy, that is the NDC, and we must all come together to form a very huge alliance and win massively for the NPP”, he added.

Source: Class FM

Over 5,000 fraudsters apply for COVID-19 stimulus fund

Ellis Ferdinand

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June 22, 2020

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Over 5,000 fraudsters apply for COVID-19 stimulus fund

It has been detected that applicants with fictitious data, documents and personal details were among those who applied for the special fund, set up by the government to cushion small and medium scale businesses from the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Data from the National Board and Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) showed that 5,200 out of a total of 450,000 applicants presented fake documentations to benefit from the GH¢1 billion Coronavirus Alleviation Programme (CAP) business support scheme.

As a result, the NBSSI, together with the CAP Steering Committee, has extended the deadline for applications from June 20 to June 26, 2020, to enable it to address all fraud-related cases before the fund will be disbursed.

The Executive Director of NBSSI, Mrs Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, who made this known at a press conference in Accra last Friday, said some of the fraud cases detected had been forwarded to security agencies for investigations.

“The online portal developed to receive applications has detected more than 5,200 fraud alerts representing multiple applications with the same mobile money or bank account details.

“For instance, we identified that one person registered for over 100 people in a community with the same documentation, mobile money contact or account number.

“And so what we did was to engage the services of KPMG, a tax consulting firm, to do a data analysis of the applications to help make the right decisions,” she said.

Mrs Yankey-Ayeh further explained that the analysis would allow them to detect those using fictitious documentation such as fraudulent tax identification number (TIN), contact numbers and same account numbers.

Check This Out: NPP Primaries: Defeated candidate takes back 250 bicycles he donated to delegates, party executives

Reasons

Mrs Yankey-Ayeh further explained that the extension of the deadline was as a result of varied concerns raised by some trade and business associations asking for more time to enable some of their members to submit their applications.

“We had to give all concerns careful thought to arrive at the six-day extension. The grace period presents an opportunity to rectify complaints and errors of applicants with wrong credentials recorded on the digitalised application portal,” she said.

Other reasons included delayed applications due to challenges encountered in the acquisition of the TIN.

Mrs Yankey-Ayeh also said the extension was an opportunity to mop up paper applications (from cut-off communities and rural areas with no internet) for processing onto a digitised system.

As of June 18, 2020, the executive director said more than 450,000 applicants, representing micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), had registered for the fund; 75 per cent of whom had successfully completed their applications.

Applicants who registered via mobile phones represented 58.8 per cent while the remaining 41.2 per cent did it directly on the web portal, she said.

Mrs Yankey-Ayeh said 66 per cent of the applicants were females who requested 47 per cent of the total value of funds, while the remaining 34 per cent male applicants demanded 52.6 per cent of the funds.

The executive director also said the NBSSI had intensified collaboration with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to facilitate TIN acquisition for applicants.

About CAP

The CAP Business Support Scheme was instituted by the government to provide support to MSMEs negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Launched on May 19, 2020, by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, its implementation was fast-tracked to ensure that MSMEs, which are the backbone of the economy, access the fund in a timely manner.

BoG’s appeal in GN Savings & Loans case dismissed; ordered to justify license revocation

Ellis Ferdinand

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June 22, 2020

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BoG’s appeal in GN Savings & Loans case dismissed; ordered to justify license revocation

The Court of Appeal on Monday, June 22, 2020, dismissed an appeal by the Bank of Ghana, which challenged the jurisdiction of the High Court is hearing the suit filed by GN Savings and Loans over the revocation of its license.

BoG had argued that the High Court has no jurisdiction to hear the complaint challenging the revocation of GN Savings and Loans’ license.

It argued that the only lawful forum for resolving the GN Savings concerns is the Ghana Arbitration Centre.

However, the High Court dismissed its application in December 2019; thereby compelling the BoG to seek redress at the Court of Appeal.

Dismissal

Ruling on BoG’s appeal on Monday, the Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed the application, and directed BOG to go back to the High Court and justify the revocation of the license of GN Savings.

Lawyer for GN Savings, Justice Srem-Sai, expressed concern about BoG’s legal gymnastics, which he said are all aimed at stalling the case and thereby perverting the course of justice.

The court was presided over by Justice Ackah Yensu with Justices L.L. Mensah and Anthony Oppong.

Background

In October 2019, BoG and the Attorney-General raised a preliminary legal objection to the case brought by Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom and two other shareholders of GN Savings and Loans Limited.

In the objection, the BoG and the Attorney-General argued that the High Court has no jurisdiction to hear the complaint which is challenging the revocation of GN Saving’ licence.

According to the Attorney-General and the Bank of Ghana’s lawyers, the only lawful forum for resolving the Applicants’ concerns is the Ghana Arbitration Centre.

This argument was opposed by Mr Srem-Sai.

In December 2019, the Presiding High Court judge, Justice Gifty Adjei-Addo, dismissed the legal objection as frivolous and without merit.

She then ordered the BoG, the Attorney-General and the Receiver of GN Savings to file their defences by January 17, 2020.

The BoG and the Attorney-General failed to file their defence on January 17, 2020 as directed by the court.

Rather, BoG appealed the High Court’s decision. It also filed an application at the High Court for a stay of the High Court’s proceedings pending the determination of the appeal.

Lawyers for Dr. Nduom again opposed the application for stay of proceedings, arguing that it was a mere ploy to delay the proceedings as the BoG has not demonstrated that some exceptional circumstances exist to justify a stay.

The application for stay of proceedings was accordingly dismissed as without merit.

By this time the case had reached mid-March 2020.

Check This Out: NPP Primaries: Defeated candidate takes back 250 bicycles he donated to delegates, party executives

Further Orders

The trial judge then ordered all the parties to file their defences and a closing address by April 13, 2020, but the BoG and Attorney-General failed to do so.

While still yet to file a defence to the substantive case in the High Court, the lawyers for the BoG rather appealed to the Court of Appeal against the High Court’s ruling which dismissed their application for stay of proceedings.

While all this was going on, the lawyers of the Bank of Ghana had not taken any steps to prosecute their first appeal.

For example, they failed to attend the High Court Registrar’s summons to settle the records of appeal. They also failed to satisfy the conditions of appeal which was served on them way back in February 2020.

Fed up with the delays and evasiveness of the Bank of Ghana’s lawyers, the High Court Registrar wrote to the Court of Appeal Registrar and recommended that the Court of Appeal should strike out the entire appeal for abuse of the court process.

Source: CNR

Armed men demolish Nigeria High Commission’s property

Ellis Ferdinand

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June 22, 2020

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Armed men demolish Nigeria High Commission’s property

An apartment within the Nigerian High Commission has been pulled down by armed men who said they had the backing of national security.

The incident happened Friday night when bulldozers moved in, protected by the men who threatened to shoot staff of the embassy, JoyNews has reported.

The Nigerian High Commissioner, shaken by the incident, reportedly run away.

The block of apartments was being constructed as a shelter for visiting diplomats and staff of the commission.

Helpless during the destruction, Emmanuel Kabutey who is the head of security at the High Commission said they were warned by an armed man that “if any of us try, he will clear us off.”

Check This Out: NPP Primaries: Defeated candidate takes back 250 bicycles he donated to delegates, party executives

Police were called in after the incident but Mr. Kabutey said their posture was worrying.

“When the police came, they did not come to us or any other person but rather went straight to the man [leader of the armed men] they had a friendly chat, exchanged numbers with him and allowed him to go.

“When they came back in, they took pictures but did not ask me or my boys anything,” JoyNews has reported him as saying.

Credit: Ghana Report

NPP Primaries: Defeated candidate takes back 250 bicycles he donated to delegates, party executives

Ellis Ferdinand

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June 21, 2020

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NPP Primaries: Defeated candidate takes back 250 bicycles he donated to delegates, party executives

aspirant in the just-ended New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary primaries at Assin North constituency has gone back for all the bicycles he donated to delegates after an embarrassing defeat.

Eric Amankwa Blay had shared 250 bicycles to delegates prior to the election to each of the polling stations in the constituency.

Although he campaigned vigorously across the length and breadth of the constituency, his performance was very abysmal when the final results were announced on Saturday.

He secured 44 votes as against the incumbent MP Abena Duruwa Mensah who polled 389 votes.

Obviously disappointed, the results made Mr Blay and his supporters stormed into various houses of delegates across the constituency to retrieve the bicycles shared among party members to cast the ballots in his favour.

The defeated aspirant who spoke to Adom News’ Alfred Amoh said the motive behind the distribution of the bicycles was for campaign purposes.

He said for that matter, failure to endorse his candidature means you don’t like the bicycle.

According to him, the unit cost of the bicycle is ¢300. Apart from the bicycles, Mr Blay claims to have shared ¢200 and ¢500 to each delegate and constituency executives to endorse his candidature but failed to do so.

“I’m not talking back the money but as for the bicycles, I need them back,” he said.

Some party delegates and polling station executives who have their bicycles taken back said they were very disappointed.

Reacting to the issue, the Assin North Constituency NPP secretary, Emmanuel Asamoah said the party leadership will meet Mr Blay to address the issue.

Some friends hated me, thought I was a threat to their husbands – Afia Akoto

Ellis Ferdinand

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June 21, 2020

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Some friends hated me, thought I was a threat to their husbands – Afia Akoto

You’ve heard many times how much damage you do to your self-esteem when you bash yourself with criticism. But did you know that when you mentally bash other people, even in the privacy of your own mind, you’re actually hurting yourself physically as well as psychologically?

Well, a Deputy Communications Officer of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Maame Afia Akoto, has advised people (women), to stop gossiping about others and tap into their blessings.

Her comments were in solidarity with famous Ghanaian media personality, Nana Aba Anamoah after she was subjected to names calling and bashing for being gifted with a new Range Rover on her birthday.

In a lengthy write-up on Facebook, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MASLOC, could not fathom why people will be envious of the popular journalist after being rewarded by God for fighting her many silent battles all alone.

“I write this because Nana ABA like me, may not be perfect but honestly she has fought many silent battles alone and God keeps honouring her publicly”, portions of her writeup indicated.

The wife of NDC’s Chief Biney, recalled how some of her own friends hated her for nothing sake, thinking she was a lesbian or perhaps a threat to their boyfriends and husbands. She said while some thought she had undergone a surgery to be curvaceous, others prayed and plotted she gets fired for marrying an NDC stalwart.

“I have some friends hear who sometime back, felt or feel I was/am lesbian, feel or felt I was or am a threat to their boyfriends and husbands so hated me. Some even think I have undergone surgeries, some even prayed and plotted I get sacked because I married an opponent. People may hate you because of what others told them or because you have a courage they don’t have”, she said.

Read her full writeup below:

Someone got married, they will sit back and gossip “this won’t last” or “she snatched someone’s husband” or “she is after his money” … my sister stop this witchcraft and tap into people’s blessings. Someone got a gift of a car or latest iPhone oh “it’s fake”, “fake number plate” or ” “china phone” … someone struggles to have a child “oh are you sure it is her baby” or “IVF” or “surrogate” if you think it comes easy go try some. We talk too much about everything others have making it difficult to get our own blessings.

Look I have heard many things about myself that sometimes I sit back, look at those people and I just say may their own expectations delay. I don’t envy others successes so far as they worked for it even if through their VJ it is none of my business, neither is it yours.

Check This Out: #NPP2020: Dep. Chief of Staff Asenso-Boakye beats Okyem Aboagye

I don’t judge people who overnight develop all the curves in the world. Because at the end of the day they don’t account to me nor you. You may have suffered to have your first car , you may have suffered to find true love, you may have struggled to build a career. It doesn’t mean you have the right to run people down, hate them and talk ill of them.

I have some friends hear who sometime back, felt or feel I was/am lesbian, feel or felt I was or am a threat to their boyfriends and husbands so hated me. Some even think I have undergone surgeries, some even prayed and plotted I get sacked because I married an opponent. People may hate you because of what others told them or because you have the courage they don’t have. Well, I came here to give you one advice. Stop hating, stop being bitter, stop envying and be happy for others.

I always get excited when I see men surprising their women with gifts. And God honours me in this same place, in front of the same people who called me names and hated me for no reason. I write this because Nana ABA like me, may not be perfect but honestly she has fought many silent battles alone and God keeps honouring her publicly. Cheers to many more gifts, honour and a happy ending for all who will from today stop hating and be happy for others. I win my battles on my knees.

Source: Ghana Guardian