President Akufo Addo receives congratulatory messages as opposition battles with EC
The Opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) lost the 2020 general election, according to the official result declared by Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) Madam Jane Mensah. Despite the official results declared, the NDC and its flag bearer John Dramani Mahama said, they will not accept the result, because the result does not tally with what they collated across the 16 regions of the Republic of Ghana. Since after the result declaration, supporters of the opposition John Dramani Mahama and NDC have been captured in most of the regions protesting in a different dimension, some were seen block roads and burning tyres, some were captured making a violent pronouncement of how they would kill people that blocked their ways as they protest and demand for justice from the Electoral Commission. However, despite all these hullabaloos across the country, leaders and other heads of states across the African continents, have been pouring their congratulatory messages to the President-elect Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who according to the EC emerged victorious by polling 6,730,413 representing 51.595% while his main contender John Mahama of the NDC had 6,214,889 representing 47.366%. President Mahamudu Buhari of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, President Uhuru Kenyatta has congratulated President Nana Akufo-Addo following his re-election for a second term in office, ODM leader Raila Odinga, and the newly elected U.S President Joe Biden have all extended their congratulatory messages. Below are some of the congratulatory messages captured on social media handles of these personalities by Apexnewsgh.com. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications
UER: Government cannot provide employment for all Graduands – Dr Akapanga
The founder of the Ghana National Association of Entrepreneurs, Dr Winfred Akapanga has observed that government alone cannot employ all the graduands who are churned out annually despite the many youth-focused interventions such as Nations Builders Corp Amongst others. The International Labour Organisation, ILO, estimates that about 65 million youth aged between 15-24 years were unemployed in 2017 while youth unemployment remains 300% higher in this age bracket than the unemployment rates for adults aged over 25 years. Speaking at a job fair as a facilitator who took the job seekers through the topic’’ Marketing and Social Media’’, admonished them that one of the innovative ways of empowering themselves was through the use of social media where they could either brand, market or position themselves or products to attract local and international customers. While entreating the young graduates to form an association and to help market the products of businessmen in the region who cannot use social media to market their products, the founder indicated that as job seekers they could make a living through that. ‘’ In this highly Informational Communication Technology era, Businesses cannot thrive very well without the deployment of social media and as young graduates, you must take advantage of this trend to create jobs for yourselves and others instead of relying solely on the government for jobs’, Dr. Akapanga admonished. Dansyn Innovation Social Organisation, Dansyn (ISO), a non-profit organization operating in the Upper East Region organized the job fair in Bolgatanga, the regional capital of the Upper East Region aimed at complementing the government’s effort at addressing the graduate unemployment problem in the country. This follows an earlier programme organized by Dansyn Innovation Social Organization with funding support from Mastercard Foundation Young Africa Works Project, World Bank, and Ministry of Communication in June 2020 this year trained much youth in the areas of Mobile Apps and Web Development through the support of the Ghana Tech Lab in Accra. About 20 beneficiaries in the Upper East Region were trained in web development by Dansyn ISO in partnership with MasterCard Foundation, the World Bank, Ministry of Communications, Ghana, and Ghana Tech Lab, to help them to become web developers and to market their products to the wider community using the internet. The Bolgatanga 2020 Job Fair which brought together employers and job seekers and sponsored by Mastercard Foundation Young Africa Works Project, World Bank, and Ministry of Communication, allowed the employers to share with job seekers the necessary qualities needed for gaining employment. Among some of the think -tank organizations which attended the programme included the Ghana Tech Lab in Accra Ghana National Association of Entrepreneurs, Bolgatanga Technical University (BTU), Cyber Ghana, a non-profitable Cyber Security Organization. The Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of Dansyn Innovation Social Organization, Mr. Daniel Nang, explained that his outfit decided to bring the employers and job seekers together to help address the challenges of unemployment among graduates. He indicated that while many of the beneficiaries have gained employment, others are also in incubation with his outfit, stressing’’ all this is to enable the youth gain employment and also employ others’’. The CEO stated that Dansyn Innovation Social Organization, a non-profit organization for some time now has been supporting youth entrepreneurship with Training and Skill Development in Information Technology to make an Impact in the Community by Enhancing the Economic and Social Status of the People with special emphasis on women. Speaking at the Jobs fair which was under the theme ‘Creating sustainable employment through digital skills he disclosed that the job fair hoped to link prospective employees to potential employers. He observed that the rising youth unemployment situation in the Upper East Region and the entire country of Ghana is due to job immobility and the digital skills gaps. A Base Innovations Leader of Ghana Tech Lab, partners for the Organization of the Job Fair Gabriel Quarshie, expressed the hope that the fair is to help young people leverage technology to gain decent employment. For his Part the Laboratory and Network Administrator at the Department of ICT at the Bolgatanga Technical University, Richard Azunre cautioned the graduands to be very mindful about the way and manner they use social media and hinted that most employers use social media as the window of employing job seekers. ‘’Most job seekers don’t get employment because of the way and manner they conduct themselves through the use of social media. The attitudes and behaviors of many people are reflected in the way and they chart with friends and others on the social media and their dress codes also counts’’, he warned. He also warned the general public to be very mindful about the way fraudsters use social media to defraud others and announced that the BTU is seeking accreditation from the National Accreditation Council Board to run diploma and degree programmes in Cyber Security and Forensic Studies. He said the programme which had already established Cyber Security and Forensic Laboratory at the BTU is being funded with the support from the Royal Academy of Engineering, UK and Lloyd’s Register Foundation, UK. He stated that from the early next year 2020, the BTU would begin running short courses in Computer, Ethnical Hacking, Forensic Investigation for local professionals in ICT as well as established Cyber clubs in Junior and Senior High Schools to begin teaching of young graduates in Cyber Security and Forensic. Azunre Richard stressed the need for Cybersecurity issues to be part of radio programming adding the University is engaging some local radio stations to partner with them. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/ Prosper Adankai Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications
JUST IN: See Three Widows Who Succeeded Their Husbands In 2020 Ghana Elections
In Ghana politics, it is gradually becoming a norm for political parties that when any of their party representatives passed on, their mourning widows will be forced to replace their late husbands in the name of retaining the party seat in Parliament. This new development is becoming a matter of public debate across the country among some well-meaning Ghanaians including politicians themselves. Somewhere in October 2020, Editor of the Patriot Newspaper, Peter Bamfo advised various political parties against ‘forcing’ mourning widows from taking the place of their spouses in parliament regardless of it serving their purposes. Mr. Bamfo made the call in an interview with Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show (Happy 98.9 FM and e.TV Ghana) monitored by Apexnewsgh.com, He said, “It is important that we do not let partisan politics ruin our culture. You can’t use this kind of situation to cure the challenge of low women representation in parliament”. However, the same month of October, a Member of Parliament (MP) came out openly to register his displeasure with such a developing trend in Ghana politics. According to the MP who was very furious and worried about the development in Ghana politics, He said, such development puts them at risk as husbands, because when such a move is favoring women, their lives as husbands will be in danger. However, it appears the trend is becoming very lucrative for these widows because, all those who contested under the ticket of both NPP and NDC won massively in the 2020 parliamentary elections. In January 2019, Alhassan contested the parliamentary seat for the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency, running to replace her late husband. She won the election with 68.80 percent of the valid votes cast. The other candidates, Kwasi Delali Brempong of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) polled 30.52 percent, William Kofi Dowokpor of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) polled 0.58 percent, and Clement Boadi of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) polled 0.10 percent. Mrs. Lydia Seyram Alhassan successfully contested the 2020 Ghana general election under the ticket of the New Patriotic Party and has retained her seat after polling 39,851 out of 77,604 total votes. Her closest competitor actor Mr. John Dumelo of the NDC polled 37,778 while an independent candidate got 108 votes. Mrs. Lydia Akanvariba Lamisi Adakudugu is the wife of the late David Adakudugu the NDC parliamentary candidate for the Tempane constituency, who later died in September last year, after his departure, there was a need to hold a new primary to elect a new candidate to represent the party at the December 7, 2020, parliamentary polls. That was how Mrs. Lydia was considered as the NDC Parliamentary Candidate for the Tempane Constituency. According to the results, Lawyer Kpemka pulled only 16,461 votes which represent 44.01 percent against 20,939 representing 55.99% for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Madam Lydia. However, another widow among them is the Parliamentary candidate for Mfantseman Constituency in the Central Region, Mrs. Ophelia Mensah Hayford who succeeded her late husband Mr. Ekow Kwansah Hayford as the Parliamentary candidate for Mfantseman Constituency after some armed robbers shot and killed him while on campaign duties. Mrs. Mensah Hayford makes a history of winning a second term for Mfantseman Constituency under the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) with 36,021 against her competitor Mr. James Odziifo Essoun who had 32,438 votes. However, her victory came as a result of her husband’s cordial relationship with the people of Mfantseman. The writer isn’t suggesting that widows have hands in whatever that happened to their husbands, that is not the case, but the question is, could these widow’s replacement of their husbands in Parliament be a better way of mourning their husbands? It is becoming a norm and a matter of concern to most Parliamentarians themselves. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications
BREAKING: Three arrested as police retrieve AK47, ammunition in elected NDC MP’s office
The Northern Region Election Security Taskforce has retrieved an AK47 assault rifle with two magazines loaded with 60 rounds of ammunition at Savelugu in the Northern region. The weapons were allegedly retrieved from the office of the NDC’s Parliamentary Candidate for Savelugu, Alhaji Iddris Yakubu Abdulai, on Wednesday evening December 9, 2020. Reports say the search that resulted in the retrieval of the weapons was conducted after a shooting incident that claimed the life of a girl, Zakari Samira and injured three others on Tuesday evening at the office premises. The Northern Regional Police Commander, COP Timothy Yoosa Bonga, briefing the media at the regional headquarters said the security acted upon a tip-off. According to the commander, the security also retrieved another AK47 rifle loaded with 40 rounds of ammunition and 21 additional ammunition, and 1 round of G3 rifle ammunition from the residence of a 60-year-old Chief of Duko in Savelugu, Duko-Naa Mohammed Ahmed. He said security officials also picked up 27-year-old Mohammed Fadillah and 38-year-old Alhassan Dawuda for possessing firearms. He added that Mohammed Fadillah has been granted bail on grounds of ill health while the remaining two are in police custody. The police, he said, have invited the NDC candidate to assist in investigations, an invitation he is yet to honour. He said they were going to use every necessary means to arrest him since he has failed to show his face. Meanwhile, in the Tamale District Court, the two accused persons were charged with possessing firearms without authority. They are, however, to reappear in court on Thursday, 17th December, 2020. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications
Armed men attack Keta MP-elect at his residence
The Member of Parliament-elect on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Keta Constituency, Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpe, has been attacked by some armed men at the dawn of Friday, December 11, 2020. According to reports by GhanaWeb’s correspondent in the region, the attack took place at MP-elect’s residence at Afiadenyigba in the Volta Region around 2:00 am. In an exclusive interaction with a younger brother of the MP-elect, Lambert Gakpe who narrated the incident, the armed men did not only launch an attack on Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpe but also ransacked a mobile phone shop which is situated close to his house. “They were a group of about five people who came to our house. This is the house of the elected MP for Keta, Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpe. When they came, they first attacked a shop in front of the house. In the course of breaking the door to the shop, our younger brother heard them and came out. They saw him ambushed him, then at a gunpoint, they asked him for money. So, they robbed him and they went to our parent’s room,” Lambert Gakpe explained to GhanaWeb. Adding that “they attacked my parents and some children in the house. When I woke up, I saw them through the window attacking my brother who is the MP-elect…According to my brother he had GH¢25,000 in the room so he gave everything to them and he was shouting that they shouldn’t shoot him…They beat my brother with stool, gun, anything they see they just hit him with it.” Per the Lambert Gakpey narration, all gadgets of his elder brother were taken at gunpoint. Lambert Gakpey told GhanaWeb that while the gunmen continued to ransack other parts of the house, he helped his injured brother to escape through the back door. He added that the MP-elect is currently receiving medical attention in a health facility in the area, while a report has been lodged at the Keta police. Ghanaweb Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications
Ghana’s Elvis Manu grabs his fifth goal of the Europa League as Ludogorets exit competition
Ghanaian forward Elvis Manu was on target for Ludogorets Razgrad but it was not enough as the Bulgarian giants lost 3-1 to LASK Linz in the final group game of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night. Ludogorets went into the game against the Austrians with no hope of making it to the next round of the competition after losing their previous five matches in Group J. The Greens lads were lucky to end the first half with a goalless draw after Thomas Goiginger missed a penalty for LASK Linz on the 45th minute mark. Coach Stanislav Genchev called upon Elvis Manu from the bench at half time, replacing the Ghanaian within DR Congo forward Mavis Tchibota. Manu quickly announced his presence in the game with a fine finish just a minute after the recess. But the visitors replied with a goal from Phillip Weisinger in the 56th minute. Ludogorets were reduced to ten men after Alex Santana was given a straight red card and a penalty against his side for a cynical tackle. The resultant penalty was buried by Rene Renner in the 61st minute before Emil Madsen rounded off the heavy victory with a super strike in the 67th minute. Manu ended their Europa campaign with an impressive 5 goals from 6 games. Meanwhile, his compatriot and teammate Bernard Tekpetey came on in the 77th minute of the game. LASK Linz have joined Tottenham Hotspurs in qualifying for the next stage of the competition as Ludogorets finished at the bottom of the standings with zero point. Ghana soccernet Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications
Full Script: Mahama’s positions on 2020 polls results
Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen; Fellow Ghanaians; My Brothers and Sisters; Allow me to begin by expressing my deepest gratitude to you for your tremendous support— which you expressed overwhelmingly and convincingly at the polls. There is no doubt that Ghanaians from every region of this great nation voted for change—and we did so in both the Presidential and the Parliamentary elections. I am a staunch believer in the experiment of democracy, the system of governance that allows the ultimate decision-making power to rest in the hands of you, the good people of Ghana. We, the people who, with an eye toward to future we would like for our dear country, elect representatives to go forward and realize that vision. Government serves at the choice, direction, and pleasure of the people of this great nation. And I have had the honor and privilege to serve my country in all levels of government. When, in 2016, at the end of my first full term as President I ran for re-election as an incumbent candidate, I respected the will of the people. I conceded, stepped aside, and set in motion a peaceful transfer of power—because I understood that it was the will of the people. And if we are to progress as a nation, if we are to live up to the inheritance of our history, one for which people have paid the ultimate price—that sacred verdict of the people must be respected. It must be protected. It has been my pledge throughout my time of service as a representative to the good people of Ghana to do exactly that. And that it why I stand before you tonight unwilling to accept the fictionalized results of a flawed election. My Brothers and Sisters, it is important to remember that the government that is in power controls all of the state resources and oversees all of the state’s institutions. The line he treads between his loyalty to the power that is held by the people, and by his own desire to hold on to power, can be a thin one indeed. We went into the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary elections with assurances from the Electoral Commission and the relevant state actors that it would be conducted in an atmosphere free from fear, and that it would be fair, transparent, and credible. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. What we witnessed across the country from Monday December 7, 2020 exposed a deliberate plan to manipulate and predetermine the results of the election in favour of the incumbent candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo, who, as so happens, controls all of the state resources and oversees the state’s institutions. Despite all of the ruling party’s inducements, use of monetary enticements, and other such schemes on a scale never before seen in this country, the good people of this country understood what was at stake, and it was clear, as the result of the votes that were legally cast that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) won the Presidential and Parliamentary elections. No amount of trickery, sleight of hand, or obfuscation will erase that reality. I am extremely proud of our parliamentary candidates who have earned for themselves the title of “giant elephant killers.” We went into the Parliamentary election with a deficit of 63 seats. We made up for our 2016 losses and we are now set to become the majority in Parliament. This historic feat after one term demonstrates the strength of our great party, and the strength of the mandate given to us by the good people of Ghana to lead. In respect of the Presidential elections: the facts and figures available to the us from pink sheets and other evidence that has unfolded across the country, indicate that numerous steps have been taken to manipulate the results of the election in favour of the incumbent President. This calls into question the credibility of one of our most important institutional pillars of democracy—the Electoral Commission. It is now obvious to many objective minds that the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission has been used to manipulate results from the various constituencies and in that process seek to subvert the sovereign will of the Ghana People. My Brothers and Sisters, one matter requires special mention. The use of the military in this election is unprecedented. Armed forces featured heavily as an intimidating measure to reverse election results, and they continue to be used in the same intimidating role to insist on recounts in areas in which the incumbent has lost whilst arm-twisting election officers during these supposed recounts. We will not accept anything short of a declaration of the legitimate results, which point to an NDC Parliamentary Majority. My Brothers and Sisters, advisedly, since the inception of the Fourth Republic, final election results have always been declared within 72 hours to allow for a thorough and diligent collation. Surprisingly, this Electoral Commission Chairperson announced, quite suspiciously and for reasons known to her, a hurried 24-hour deadline, which as we all know could not, and would not, be met. The Chairperson of the EC, in less than 24 hours after her declaration, has admitted that she has made unacceptable errors, which go to the heart of the entire electoral process and cast deep doubt on the credibility of the announced outcome. The Electoral Commission of Ghana has never brought its credibility to this historic low at such a crucial moment of election result declaration. In fact, the litany of irregularities and blatant attempts at rigging for a candidate is obvious and most embarrassing. Ghana has come too far in our democracy, in our transparency, and in our well-earned international reputation for free and fair and nonviolent elections, to find ourselves here, where we are with this election. As has been announced by our party, the National Democratic Congress: We are unable to accept the outcome of the election as declared by the Electoral Commission Chairperson, Mrs. Jean Mensah. Those results are flawed and discredited. When it comes to the parliamentary elections, the NDC has a working majority of one hundred and forty
You Can’t Intimidate Anyone In Our Constituency – North East Regional Youth Organizer
Members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) youth wing Saeed Sulemana in the Nalerigu Gambaga constituency of the North East Region, say they will not accept the verdict on which the EC declared the election, he told Apexnewsgh.com at the 64 Bench, a popular NDC youth base in Gambaga, However, a member of the Regional Communication team Mr. Mahama Abdul-Ganiu was present at venue added his voice following what he described as intimidation by the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) “we are not ready to accept this declaration by the EC, enough of this intimidation of the general public, enough of this intimidation of the media, enough of this intimidation of Ghanaian public.” Attached is the video “The government under Nana Akufo Addo has deliberately deployed security personnel especially the military across the country to prevent people from expressing themselves.” He added. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Saeed Jafar Tarimbiya Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications