Majority Leader should stop fooling — NPP’s Boakye Agyarko angry over selection of NPP flagbearer by consensus comment
Former Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko, has taken a swipe at the Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, for his recent comments on the upcoming NPP presidential election. Mr Mensah-Bonsu had recently made what is described as “unpalatable and unnecessary remarks” that the NPP shall select its next Flagbearer by “consensus”, in contravention of the NPP’s constitution. He further made an ethnocentric pronouncement on the upcoming elections within the NPP, saying it was time for a non-Akan person to lead the NPP. The Majority Leader in an interview with Accra-based Joy News said it’s unwise for the NPP to present another Akan as flagbearer for the party in 2024. “Inwardly, I know I also have the competence but is it wise for me now immediately after two Akans; Kufour had been the president, Akufo-Addo follows from the Eastern Region and there is a third Akan to follow? Doing introspection, I think it may not hold well for a party that is accused by some as being overly Akanistic party. But not everybody agrees with me. And that is the beauty of democracy,” Mr Mensah-Bonsu said. But speaking in an interview with Oman FM, Mr. Agyarko, a senior member of the NPP expresses disappointment in the Majority Leader for making such utterances, describing them as “bloody fool” and “infantile”. “Instead of ensuring that the party is deeply rooted for Ghanaians to know that we are serious people and that when we are given the mandate we do things right, we are there fooling. Why are we disturbing the party? The party has a constitution. For me normally, I will not have mentioned names but I’m disappointed with the majority leader. Are you the one to bring about this noise in the party? he said. Mr Agyarko believes such remarks should be coming from young people within the party and not the Majority Leader. He could not fathom why Mr Mensah-Bonsu who should know better as a lawmaker who wants to disrespect the Party’s Constitution apparently for parochial interest. ModernGhana Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
NPP to replace old cards with biometric membership cards
The old membership cards of members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) will soon fade out to make way for new biometric or electronic membership cards this year. This was announced by the party leadership, who are currently on tour in Kumasi. The new policy would coincide with a membership drive project by the party to help register more members into the party to solidify its chances of retaining political power in 2024. The yet-to-be introduced party cards would have a special feature whereby all registered members would be automatically hooked onto a centralised computer system to make for easy identification. When officially rolled out, the new party cards would make it possible for all NPP registered members to be in the same folder, a move that would boost the compilation of party data and do away with recurring fracas over the compilation of party albums for primaries. This was announced when National Executives of the NPP, led by National Chairman Freddie W. Blay, interacted with some Ashanti Regional NPP bigwigs. The executives are currently touring the regions to take stock and identify problems they faced during the 2020 general election, and take steps to rectify the problems. The closed door meeting, held over the weekend in Kumasi, was attended by NPP Executives from all the 47 constituencies in region, and key party matters were discussed there. National Executives of the NPP, including John Boadu, Sammi Awuku, Lawyer Henry Nana Boakye, aka ‘Nana B’, Kate Gyamfua, Rita Asobayire, Abdul Aziz Haruna Futa, just to mention a few, took turns to address the party members. A source told DAILY GUIDE that even though several party issues were discussed at the meeting, the electronic party cards for NPP members was a standout as it excited the members. According to him, the electronic party cards would help bring several advantages to the NPP, including proper management and data keeping among others, and those at the meeting were in full support. Checks made by DAILY GUIDE were indicating that the delegates at the meeting proposed next month for the start of the electronic cards, subject to approval by the National Council. Mr. Blay took the opportunity to caution all members interested in competing for the 2024 flag bearer position to be measured in the way they were approaching issues, saying their actions had the tendency to distract the Akufo-Addo-led government from delivering their mandate. “A lot of the people who may be interested in the flag bearer position, particularly individuals who are interested may come from his cabinet or may be appointees who should be working to execute policies and programmes of his government, but they may be more focused on nurturing their ambition towards the flag bearer position. And that is where it is extremely negative and distracting, and therefore the party frowns on that,” he explained. General Secretary NPP General Secretary John Boadu later threw more light on the nationwide exercise of compiling a register of all the members of the party. He said it would cover the over 38,000 polling stations in the country, and it formed part of the party’s restructuring and reorganization efforts. He encouraged every member of the party to go to their respective polling stations and get their details captured in the membership register which would be kept at the polling station levels, and updated every six months in line with Article 3(10) of the NPP Constitution. Daily Guide Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
Let’s focus on Akufo-Addo’s transformation agenda – Bawumia to 2024 campaigners
The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, says he has not given consent to posters promoting him as the 2024 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). Some posters with the hash tag #Breaktheeight, have emerged on social media, pushing an agenda for Dr Bawumia to be considered as the next flagbearer of the NPP in 2024. But a statement dated March 24, 2021, signed and issued by Dr Gideon Baako, the Spokesperson to Dr Bawumia said “The Office of the Vice President has taken notice of the proliferation of posters around the country apparently promoting H.E. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as the candidate of the NPP for the 2024 elections. “For the record, the Vice President has not given his consent to these and other associated activities.” It added that Dr Bawumia remains focused on assisting President Nana Akufo-Addo in the execution of his agenda to transform Ghana. “This is where everybody’s focus should be,” it said. Meanwhile, the National Chairman of the party, Mr Freddie Blay, has urged members with ambition for various positions in the party, including the flagbearership “not to steal the start for they might be disqualified.” In an interview with the Daily Graphic, he said following the results of the 2020 General Elections, it was important for every member of the party to focus on supporting the President to execute his plans in his second term. He noted however that the party was not against members being ambitious, but “we should not be reckless and indecent” in a manner that would injure the internal cohesion and peace required to steer the state of affairs of the nation till 2024. Graphic Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
I’m the 3rd most-powerful person in Ghana; ‘what’s your position?’ Bagbin debates Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu
Mr Alban Bagbin has told Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu that he (the Suame MP) had been his friend until he (Bagbin) became the Speaker of Parliament. “Hon. Majority Leader, your powers have not reached that. Hon. Majority Leader, resume your seat. You don’t lead Parliament. You lead the business of the House. You lead the Majority and you lead government business. As to the role of Speaker, you’ve not been there yet. When you get there, you’ll do so,” Mr Bagbin told the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs on Tuesday, 23 March 2021 during parliamentary business regarding a petition filed by Dr Kwabena Duffuor and Mr Prince Kofi Amoabeng to have the house investigate the collapse by the government, of their banks – uniBank and UT Bank. Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu had raised issues with the Speaker’s referral of the petition laid by Bawku Central MP Mahama Ayariga, to a yet-to-be-composed seven-member committee for probe, since, according to the Majority Leader, the matter was already before a court. The Suame MP did not take kindly to the Speaker’s overruling of his objections, which sparked a back-and-forth between the two politicians and friends. Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu insisted the Majority Leader is the leader of the House, to which Mr Bagbin retorted: “I stated it but you’re not the leader of the Speaker. At least, I have a position in Ghana. Number three”. The Majority Leader then counters: “Number three is not in government” to which Mr Bagbin replied: “No, I didn’t say in government. I said in the country” and then asked the Suame MP: “What is your position in the country?” He also told Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu that: “You’ve been my good friend from all these years until I became Speaker”, adding: “Everybody in Ghana was doubting whether, indeed, you were really my friend”. “I’ve received a lot of calls about us and I said you’re my friend and you’re still my friend. Please don’t give credence to that,” the Speaker told Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu. Dr Duffuor, a former Governor of the Bank of Ghana and former Finance Minister; and Mr Amoabeng, founder of UT Bank, petitioned Parliament to have the licences of their banks, which were revoked in 2017 and 2018, restored. They also want Parliament to investigate the conduct of the Bank of Ghana in carrying out the revocation of the licences. Below are their reliefs: UT Bank i) Investigate the conduct of the Bank of Ghana and the Ghana Stock Exchange for the revocation of UT Bank’s licence and delisting the bank without due regard to the rules of Administrative Justice guaranteed under Article 23 of the 1992 Constitution. ii) Direct the restoration of the banking licence of UT Bank Limited by the Bank of Ghana and the remedying of the harms done the shareholders’ property rights as a result of the conduct of the Bank of Ghana. uniBank i) Investigate the conduct of the Bank of Ghana in the takeover, appointment of an Official Administrator of uniBank Ghana Limited and the circumstances surrounding the revocation of the banking licence of uniBank Ghana Limited; ii) Direct the restoration of the banking licence of uniBank Ghana Limited by the Bank of Ghana and the remedying of the harms done the shareholders’ property rights as a result of the conduct of the Bank of Ghana. Revocation of licences The Bank of Ghana (BoG) in August 2018 announced that it has revoked the licences of five banks and put them together as Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited. The banks were uniBank Ghana Limited, The Royal Bank Limited, Beige Bank Limited, Sovereign Bank Limited, and Construction Bank Limited and appointed Nii Amanor Dodoo of KPMG as the Receiver for the five banks. Prior to the amalgamation of the five banks, the Central Bank had closed down UT Bank and Capital Bank in August 2017. Reasons for closureuniBank, according to the BoG, was identified during the Asset Quality Review update in 2016 exercise to be significantly undercapitalised and beyond rehabilitation. “Shareholders, related and connected parties had taken amounts totaling GH¢3.7 billion which were neither granted through the normal credit delivery process nor reported as part of the bank’s loan portfolio. “In addition, amounts totaling GH¢1.6 billion had been granted to shareholders, related and connected parties in the form of loans and advances without due process and in breach of relevant provisions of Act 930. “Altogether, shareholders, related and connected parties of uniBank had taken out an amount of GH¢5.3 billion from the bank, constituting 75 percent of total assets of the bank,” the Central Bank explained back in 2018. On UT Bank, the Central Bank stated in a press release: “This action has become necessary due to severe impairment of their capital.” Classfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
New taxes needless – Lecturer to Govt
A senior Lecturer at the University of Education, Winneda, Dr Bernard Tutu-Boahene has questioned the government’s decision to introduce new taxes in the budget statement without increasing the wages and salaries of workers. He stated that the government had no business introducing new taxes when the salaries of the people have been stagnated. Government does not intend to increase wages of workers following the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic on the financial health of the country. To that end, the government said in its budget statement for the 2021 fiscal year that “Government in 2020 outlined a number of initiatives to cushion the effect of the pandemic on the populace.” The authority has introduced new taxes to enable it deal with the impact of the virus. The government proposed in the 2021 budget statement which has since been approved by the legislature the introduction of a Covid-19 Health Levy of a one percentage point increase in the National Health Insurance Levy and a one percentage point increase in the VAT Flat Rate to support expenditures related to Covid-19. “To provide the requisite resources to address these challenges and fund these activities, government is proposing the introduction of a Covid-19 Health Levy of a one percentage point increase in the National Health Insurance Levy and a one percentage point increase in the VAT Flat Rate to support expenditures related to Covid-19,” the budget said among other things. But contributing to a discussion on this issues on the New Day show with TV3’s Johnnie Hughes, Dr Tutu-Boahene said if the government was not going to increase wages of workers then there was no need for these new taxes. He stressed the government had “no business” introducing new taxes. Meanwhile, former Member of Parliament for Bantama, Mr Daniel Okyem Aboagye has justified the introduction of new taxes in the budget statement for the 2021 fiscal year. He believed that the introduction of the taxes is better than going for loans which future generations will have to pay. His comments come after Bawku Central lawmaker Mahama Ayariga said it is unfair for the Akufo-Addo government to be taxing the people of Ghana over the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Mr Ayariga said while speaking on the Key Points Programme on TV3 Saturday March 20 that the freebies provided to Ghanaians during the peak of the Coronavirus pandemic were presented to the people as gifts, hence no one expected to pay for those giveaways again. Mr Ayariga told host of the Key Points Abena Tabi that “The taxes are unfair to Ghanaians. Because the relief packages were presented to us as gifts only to be told today that we are going to pay for them.” He further stated that the solution to solving negative impact of the COVID on the economy is not increasing taxes, rather improving on the collection of the already exiting taxes.” Mr Okyem Abogaye noted that the government could not have borrowed to deal with the ravages of the covid on the economy because that would have worsened the debt situation. “To me it is matter of what we will to do as a nation. Do we want to borrow and put all the burden on future generation or do we have to try and support the government to be able to undertake its development agenda?” He asked. 3news Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
‘It’s too early to start campaigning’ – NPP cautions flagbearer hopefuls
The Communications Director of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Yaw Buaben Asamoa has described as indecent and uncalled-for, the activities of party members who have started campaigning as potential aspirants for the NPP flagbearer position ahead of the 2024 general elections. He has advised such interested persons to exercise restraint and focus on helping the NPP achieve its goals for President Akufo-Addo’s second term in office. This comes on the back of the resurfacing of some fliers and posters of Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyerematen and Minister for Agriculture, Owusu Akoto Afriyie on social media and at vantage points in Accra and other parts of the country. Some party executives have already condemned the act and called for a ceasefire. Speaking to Citi News, Yaw Buaben Asamoa mentioned that, “it is important that the candidates exercise some restraint. That self-restraint will demonstrate that they believe in the future of the NPP. They believe that the performance of this government is what will give them victory in 2024. They believe that they are part of a team and must act as members of that team.” “Right now, what are you fighting for or aspiring to? The President has just won an election and inaugurated and delivered his State of the Nation Address. The President’s budget for the second term has just been read. So what are you fighting to succeed? It’s simply too early”, he added. In the meantime, the party has hinted that it will soon come out with guidelines to streamline the campaign activities of Members. “The party will come out with guidelines. We are busily working on that. So there will be guidelines”, Yaw Buaben Asamoa noted. Earlier, the Deputy General Secretary of the NPP, Nana Obiri Boahene, also, criticized persons who have started campaigning . Campaign activities are yet to be sanctioned by the National Executive Committee and the National Council of the party. The governing party is expected to hold its presidential primary in 2023. citinewsroom Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
“I’ll rate Wontumi’s performance 6 over 10– FF Antoh
The former Ashanti regional chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) FF Antoh has said the current regional Ashanti chairman Bernard Antwi Bosiako performed above average in the 2020 general election. According to Mr. Antoh, people blaming the current chairman known popularly as Chairman Wontumi for the party’s vote decrease in the region are not being kind. Speaking to Starrfm monitored by Apexnewsgh.com, the former chairman said… “Our performance in the Ashanti Region wasn’t bad but our performance in Asawase was very poor. Muntaka stretched the gap from 5000 to 20,000. That’s what we should look at. I’ll rate Wontumi’s performance 6 over 10. He took the party from 70% to 76% and then brought it down to 72% which is above average,” “The most important thing is how to help Akufo-Addo succeed in his second term and that’s the cardinal point. All of them must be careful unless they’re joking. What happens to the party in 2024 depends on how Akufo-Addo‘s second term will be successful, then you can think of becoming president. “I don’t think it’s fair to the President because he’s even yet to form his government in his second term. I think it’s too early for people to say they want to be president. The Prez hasn’t even constituted his gov’t in his second term so why the rush? I’m not comfortable with it,” he stressed. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
Takes immediate steps to deal with the growing spate of armed robbery attacks, the rampant cases of murder. NDC to government
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has pointed that the alleged killing of Sheikh Ali Ahmed Maikano AbulFaili Jallo, son of the late Ghanaian Tijaniyya Cleric, Ahmed Maikano Jallo of Prang, is open evidence of the general state of insecurity across the country. The respected Shaykh, the son of a renowned late cleric, Shaikh Abdulai Maikano of Jallo fame in Prang, died this Wednesday after he was allegedly shot by unidentified people. According to the statement signed by NDC General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the late Shiekh Ali Ahmed Maikano AbulFaili Jallo was described as a renowned and devoted Muslim cleric who carried himself with dignity and commanded great respect among the Islamic community. “The NDC considers the news report that the Shiekh met his untimely demise in an armed robbery attack as most painful, suspicious and worrying, as it further goes to deepen the general state of insecurity in the country. “We use to this opportunity to urge the President to direct the Ministry of Interior to launch a full-scale investigation into the sad event that led to the death of the Sheikh, apprehend the perpetrators of the dastardly act, and offer true justice to his memory and the bereaved family. “We demand, as a matter of urgency, that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration takes immediate steps to deal with the growing spate of armed robbery attacks, the rampant cases of murder, and the general state of insecurity in the country. There can neither be progress or development in Ghana without peace. “The NDC wishes to express its deepest condolences and sincere sympathies to the Jalo family, the Tijaniyya fraternity, and the entire Muslim community for their loss.” Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
Your premature flagbearer campaign could send us into opposition – NPP group to Bawumia
A group identifying itself as the NPP Grassroots has expressed worry over the preponderance of posters, videos and other communication materials of Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, championing his presidential ambition. In a release to the press, the group said it is puzzled as to why the Vice-President and his team were deliberately flouting the party’s rules and regulations when they were very much aware that it was against the governing party’s constitution for any member to begin circulating posters across the nation against an election which is meant to be held in 2023. The statement further noted that: “If party members who would want to contest the position of polling station executive, constituency executive, member of parliament and national executive in 2022 haven’t begun pasting posters, then, the vice-president must know better”. They stressed: “It is obvious that the new patriotic party cannot afford to lose the 2024 general elections. Especially when our party under Nana Akufo-Addo’s leadership has laid down a strong foundation to consolidate development”. The group also argued that it saw this “desperate” action of the vice-president and his team as one which is meant to “send the New Patriotic Party into opposition”. “This is because Ghanaians cannot understand why a vice-president, who must focus to support the president to be successful in his second term, would rather channel his energy into beginning his flagbearer campaign less than three months into President Akufo-Addo’s second term. Simply put, the vice-president wants to discredit the NPP in the eyes of Ghanaians”. The NPP Grassroots alarmed that the move could create chaos in the party said they take a strong exception to the action of the vice president and are calling on him to publicly disassociate himself from the said action if he is not the one sponsoring it and subsequently instruct his people to pull down all the posters in question. “Failure to do so will leave us grassroots members with only one option and that is to remove all posters of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia geared towards 2023 NPP congress,” the statement said. classfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
Bawumia is NPP’s best bet for 2024 – Alan’s former aide
Chief Obosu Mohammed, a former press secretary of Alan Kyerematen, has argued that vice-president Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is New Patriotic Party’s best bet for 2024. He is therefore calling on NPP supporters to give him their full support ahead of the presidential primaries. In an opinion piece to the media, he said: “Having gauged the pulse of the NPP members, sympathisers and the good people of Ghana, analysed the strengths and electoral records of the prospective candidates seeking to lead our great party and upon critical and reflective thinking, I am without a doubt that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has a towering advantage that can cement our victory in the 2024 general elections.” Below is the full article: Bawumia embodies our best shot in 2024 (I) The exigencies of our politics requires that electoral competitions are not a staged one-off event, however, it is conducted within a multiplicity of processes that can lead to a triumphant end either through overt or covert means – every moment counts in politics, and every space ought to be contested without the limitation of time. We therefore cannot ignore the lingering-obvious that is poking at us on the heels of “it’s not yet time” while we continue to murmur in our homes, little gatherings, offices etc as to who we should expect to hold the flag of our party in the next Presidential primaries. It is important that we demonstrate sobriety, integration and not disintegration in every step of the political processes by the various interest-blocs. As such, we must be open to a broader, healthy and progressive public conversation on who best fits to ride on the back of the elephant to victory in the 2024 Presidential elections as a measure of energising and exciting our base, in so far as it is done cordially with the bigger picture in sight while we continue to aggressively pursue the business of running a successful government by helping the President, Nana Akufo-Addo, in consolidating our gains thus far– it is possible to walk and chew gum at the same time. I am therefore inclined on the premise of the above stated principle to offer my firm opinion on the way forward for our party as far as the upcoming Presidential primaries are concerned. The big question then remains, who is capable of delivering unto us the Presidency with no or little great deal of difficulty in the not-too-distant future? Having gauged the pulse of the NPP members, sympathisers and the good people of Ghana, analysed the strengths and electoral records of the prospective candidates seeking to lead our great party and upon critical and reflective thinking, I am without a doubt that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has a towering advantage that can cement our victory in the 2024 general elections. With the obvious being stated coupled with the grace and goodwill that comes with the candidature of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia across the rank and file of our party including the generality of Ghanaians, I shall in subsequent paragraphs and the second part of this epistle, detail a cocktail of reasons why in my considered opinion, I deem him worthy of attaining the high office of the flagbearer of our party and subsequently the President of our great republic. The ‘Bawumia Effect’ – Electoral Record – Personality To put it more succinctly, it is important that an inevitable factor which ought to be considered in the search for the successor to President Nana Akufo Addo, is one’s electoral record viz-a-viz his personality. Indeed, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s first attempt at launching himself into the national political front was when he partnered with the then candidate Nana Akufo Addo in the general election of 2008 as his running mate. The NDC had then fielded an established candidate, in the person of, John Evans Atta Mills (as he then was) of blessed memory, who, having been a Vice-President to then President John Rawlings of blessed memory had gained some considerable level of electoral experience having toured every nook and cranny of our country continuously – he had contested three (3) gruelling general elections in 2000 (first and second round) and in 2004 respectively as both a sitting Vice-President and an opposition leader. That notwithstanding, the running mate who partnered candidate Mills of blessed memory in the general elections of the year 2008 was John Dramani Mahama (as he then was), a man who was not a novice in the context of the Ghanaians politics, a former Deputy and a substantive Minister of Communications with a credit of more than 13 years long standing as an elected Member of Parliament for the Bole-Bamboi constituency. In contrast to these available facts, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, upon his first attempt as a running-mate was able to help Nana Akufo Addo (as he then was) and the NPP to win the first-round elections with over 4 million votes representing an impressive record of over 49 % on their first attempt. Suffice to say that the NPP with a slimmest of margin nearly won that Presidential election which featured Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia on the ticket. Fast-forward, despite the fact that John Dramani Mahama enjoyed a lot of support as Vice President and subsequently as President from the Northern Region (as it then was), his fortunes in the region has consistently been declining to the advantage of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia who has proven to be a force to reckon within the same territory. Dr. Bawumia’s enviable personality and his strategic deployment of political tools to win the hearts and minds of the people of the North and turn what has been factually known since the inception of the 4th Republic to be the stronghold of the NDC to be a ‘playground’ of the NPP. It was not surprising that prior to the 2020 general elections, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, reiterated that the battle ground for the general elections will be in the North. True to his words, the outcome of the elections is glaring for all to see – He