UER: Builsa North District elevated into a municipal status
The Builsa North District in the Upper East Region has been upgraded to the status of a Municipality. Mr David Amoabil Afoko, the Municipal Chief Executive, said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sandema, the Municipal capital. “It was upgraded into a Municipality through a Legislative Instrument (LI) 2422. So Builsa North is no more a District, but a Municipality,” he said. “The President was here in 2018 to take part in the Feok festival, and told us that he signed a document to upgrade the District to a Municipality. It went through the process, and finally we received notice that the District is now a Municipality,” he added. He said the upgrade would speed up development, and open up job opportunities for the teeming youth in the Builsa land. “We are happy and thankful to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo for the upgrade.” Mr Afoko called on the people of Buluk, including those in the diaspora, to turn their attention to the area and invest in businesses that would boost the economy of the Municipality. “That will help us a lot, and indeed we are calling on all Ghanaians to take advantage of the upgrade to invest in the area,” he said. Builsa North had over the years enjoyed peace, he said, and urged the residents to continue to live in peace and unity as one people, to encourage investors to venture into productive businesses in the Municipality. The MCE also commended officials of the Ghana Police Service for their efforts in combating armed robbery attacks in the area, which made residents live in fear. “They have arrested people with ammunitions and I am so thankful to the Regional Police Commander, the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team, and in fact the Police within the Municipality,” Mr Afoko said. According to him, “People are harbouring these criminals within. If we want to live in peace, residents should expose these criminals. If we shield them, we will create very big problems for ourselves.” In an interview with some residents within Sandema town who expressed their views about the elevation, called for development and security enforcement to protect life and property in the municipality. Madam Amina Hamidu, a Businesswoman, appealed to stakeholders to ensure the establishment of a Bank such as GCB in Sandema to complement the Builsa Community Bank, the only bank in the Municipality. “We have only one Bank, which is usually crowded, especially on pay days, so now that the District has been upgraded, we need more Banks to make transactions easier for us,” she said. She further appealed for the speedy construction of roads in the area, and a befitting lorry station to replace the present one which she said got muddy during the rainy season. Mr Godwin Anyechaab, a member of Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) in the Municipality, described the upgrade as “good news.” He also appealed to government to establish a tertiary institution in Buluk land. “It is good Builsa North is a Municipality now, but it will make no difference if we don’t have any tertiary institution, at least a Teacher Training College or Nursing Training College will be of help to us,” he said. GNA Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
MTN rewards best MoMo agent in Northern Ghana with a car
Mr Haruna Mohammed, a retail agent for MTN in the Savannah Region, has received a mini Toyota Rush from MTN Ghana, as a reward for being the best Mobile Money (MoMo) agent of the Company’s Northern Business District. The ultimate award was presented to him at the annual awards for MoMo agents and merchants in Tamale in recognition of his hard work and commitment. Other awardees in the categories of Mobile Agents, External Mobile Agents, Merchants and Area Account Developers received digital televisions, mobile phones and tablets as prizes. The Best Area Account Developer and the second-best MoMo agent received motorbike each as special awards of the year. Mr Simon Amoh, the Senior Manager for North General Trade of MTN Ghana, said Agents, Merchants and Distributors have been the lifeline to the growth of MoMo services and MTN’s businesses. He said selection for the award winners was based on the volume and value of transactions and the adherence to laid down rules and regulations. He urged the awardees and staff to keep up the good work to ensure delivery of best services to customers, adding that the company would continue to motivate its trading partners for business growth. Mr Amoh cautioned partners and customers not to disclose their MoMo pin, allow others do transactions on their behalf and avoid discussing wallet details with strangers, because fraudsters keep revising strategies as the company intensifies education and enhance internal security processes. Chief Superintendent, Iddrisu Tanko, Tamale Metropolitan Police Commander, entreated MTN to take both cyber and physical security of customers seriously by installing CCTV cameras to monitor happenings. He advised MoMo agents to call the Police emergency number for protection when they sense danger and ensure they operate within a well-marked location with clear roads, where the police could easily locate them in times of danger. GNA Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
It’s a good thing Mahama has gone to court – Akufo-Addo
President Akufo-Addo says he is happy his main opponent in the December 7, 2020, presidential election, John Dramani Mahama who has petitioned the Supreme Court over the verdict. He explained that the action of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate will bring an end to weeks of protest by supporters of the party since he was declared President-elect by Electoral Commission Chair, Jean Mensa. Speaking in parliament during his final State of the Nation Address to end his first term of office, President Akufo-Addo said he was however convinced the election was organised in a free and fair manner despite the allegations raised by Mr. Mahama and the NDC. “I recognise that my main opponent in the election, former President John Mahama, has gone to the Supreme Court to seek its intervention, and grant reliefs that he believes were compromised in the conduct of the elections. “It is good for the nation that, in the end, he chose the legal path, instead of the pockets of violence that have attended the rejection of the results by his party in the period after the elections,” he said. President Akufo-Addo also used the platform to urge Ghanaians to make a “deliberate decision to invest in the rule of law and uphold the integrity of the institutions of state, so that no person or group of persons take the law into their own hands with impunity.” His comment follows a decision by the NDC’s flagbearer, John Mahama, on Wednesday, December 30, 2020, to file a petition at the Supreme Court to challenge the outcome of the December 7, 2020, presidential elections. This was after series of protest by supporters of the party over alleged voter fraud and irregularities in the polls. In a statement issued after the filing of the suit, the NDC had said the petition details “serious violations of the 1992 Constitution by the Electoral Commission and its Chairperson and Returning Officer for the Presidential Election, Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensa in the conduct of their constitutional and legal responsibility.” Mr. Mahama is therefore seeking a declaration from the Supreme Court to the effect that, “the purported declaration of the results of the 2020 Presidential Election on the 9th day of December 2020 is unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.” The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Nana Akufo-Addo won the election with 51.3 percent of the vote while Mr. Mahama followed with 47.7 percent of valid votes cast. However, the NDC has refused to accept the results because of its claims of malfeasance in the polls. Myjoyonline Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
Minority slams ‘Gestapo-style invasion’ of Parliament by security personnel
The Minority in Parliament has condemned what it calls the heavy deployment of security to Parliament. In a statement, the Minority described the security deployment as “heavy-handed and Gestapo-style invasion” of Parliament. “We strongly condemn the obvious creeping despotism and blatant misuse of the national security apparatus to advance narrow parochial partisan interests,” the statement added. The Minority further demanded the “immediate withdrawal of this detachment of soldiers, police personnel and purported national security operatives.” It is worried that security presence could lead to the “desecration of our highly revered parliamentary democracy and a grave affront to the dignity of the legislative arm.” The Minority further stressed that it held President Akufo-Addo responsible for the deployment. “We shall hold him liable for any breach or obstruction in the discharge of our lawful functions,” it added. The Minority is currently at odds with the state after its leader, Haruna Iddrisu, and 19 of his caucus members were charged with unlawful assembly after they marched to the Electoral Commission’s (EC) head office in Accra in December to present a petition. During their march, there were physical confrontations with police personnel who tried to halt their march. They were expected in court on Monday but did not show up. Mr. Iddrisu said members of the Minority Caucus have not been served with any court summons. In addition, he said the Ghana Police Service was allowing itself to be manipulated by the state. Find below the full statement NDC CAUCUS IN PARLIAMENT CONDEMNS GESTAPO-STYLE SECURITY INVASION OF PARLIAMENT AND DEMANDS THEIR IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL The NDC Caucus in Parliament notes with disgust and utter revulsion the heavy-handed and Gestapo-style invasion of the august House of Parliament by security personnel at the behest of the Akufo-Addo administration. We strongly condemn the obvious creeping despotism and blatant misuse of the national security apparatus to advance narrow parochial partisan interests. Parliaments in every democratic jurisdiction represent the bulwark of democratic freedoms and we insist that this excessive abuse of state power to intimidate Members of Parliament represents a desecration of our highly revered parliamentary democracy and a grave affront to the dignity of the legislative arm. It is to uphold the universal tenets of good parliamentary democracy that our Standing Orders provide in Order 30: “The following acts or conduct shall constitute a breach of privilege or contempt of Parliament – I) causing or effecting the arrest of a Member or officer of Parliament during the proceedings of Parliament or in the course of his duties; J) molestation of Members or officers in connection with the performance of their duties in or out of Parliament; L) attempted intimidation by threats of Members in the conduct of their duties.” We hold President Akufo-Addo as Commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces and Chair of the National Security Council directly responsible for this unwarranted and reckless deployment. We shall hold him liable for any breach or obstruction in the discharge of our lawful functions. The NDC caucus in Parliament demands the immediate withdrawal of this detachment of soldiers, police personnel and purported national security operatives. We shall continue to resist the mindless assault on the pillars of our constitutional democracy. Ghana is not a dictatorship. Those who seek to erode our democratic gains and usher us into a tyrannic dispensation would be fought and defeated. The NDC Parliamentary Caucus refuses to sit idle and allow the House of the People’s Representatives to be taken hostage in scenes reminiscent of the recent state-sponsored thuggery witnessed at EC Collation Centres where similar invasions led to needless loss of lives and injuries. We are not a group to be intimidated by guns and might when we know we are on the side of the people, on the side of right, on the side of good conscience, on the side of justice and on the side of our national anthem which admonishes us to resist oppressor’s rule. Signed, Haruna Iddrisu Hon. MP, Tamale South [Minority Leader of the 7th Parliament.] Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
How Supreme Court ordered IMANI’s Franklin Cudjoe’s phone to be seized; an insider account
At the Supreme Court today, where the apex court was hearing a matter of an injunction on the gazetting of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament-elect for Hohoe, Mr John-Peter Amewu, the phone of President of Policy Think Tank IMANI Africa was seized by the court in what has become a subject of trolls. Franklin Cudjoe has been on a crusade against the disenfranchisement of “his people” at Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe, and Lolobi (SALL) because the Electoral Commission failed to allow them to vote in the just-ended parliamentary elections, a matter which was linked to Peter Amewu’s Hohoe mandate. In a unanimous decision Tuesday (January 5, 2020), a five-member panel of the apex court held that the Ho High Court had no jurisdiction to grant an injunction against Amewu. While Franklin Cudjoe was in court observing proceedings, his phone rang which instantly caught the attention of the entire court, momentarily pausing proceedings for some few minutes. Justice Yaw Appau who was visibly upset about the disrespect to the court-ordered a court clerk to seize the phone immediately. It is unclear what will happen after the episode but Mr Cudjoe later claimed his phone has been given back to him. My News Gh Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
Courts affirms Adjei Korsah as MP-elect; boots out NDC Techiman South injunction
A Wenchi High Court in the Bono Region presided over by Fred Nawura has dismissed an application for Injunction of the swearing-in of the Member of Parliament(MP)-elect for the Techiman South Constituency. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has said that it won the Techiman South Parliamentary election but the Electoral Commission and the NPP connived to rid them of the success chalked in the election. The largest opposition has allegedly provided evidence to back its claims that the party’s candidate Christopher Bayere Baasongti won the seat from the NPP. However, the Electoral Commission insists that the NDC never won the seat like they are making some sections of Ghanaians believe. Ahead of the swearing-in of Members of Parliament(MP)-elect, the NDC applied for an injunction on the swearing-in of the NPP Candidate Martin Adjei Mensah Korsah But a Wenchi High Court has dismissed the application that will prevent the process from going on. In his judgement, the trial judge is quoted to have said” I shall refuse the Ex Parte injunction application. I think the people of Techiman South need a representative at the swearing-in. To injunct the 1st respondent will be unfair. At the end of the trial, if it is established that the election was not done properly, I shall make my orders. I hereby refuse the application” My News Gh Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
BREAKING NEWS: Supreme Court quashes injunction against Peter Amewu’s win
The Supreme Court has quashed the injunction placed on the win of John Peter Amewu as MP-elect for Hohoe by a Ho High Court. This decision by the apex court will pave the way for the Minister of Energy to be sworn in the 8th Parliament of the 4th Republic on Thursday. A group of petitioners, led by veteran lawyer Tsatsu Tsikata had secured an injuction against the swearing-in of Amewu because of the exclusion of the people of SALL in the December 7th parliamentary elections. The state, through the Attorney General, called to question the jurisdiction of the Ho High Court to grant an injunction against the swearing-in of John Peter Amewu as the Member of Parliament for the Hohoe Constituency. In a suit, the state is asked the apex court to declare the injunction by the lower court as null and void and to further stop it from hearing the substantive case brought against Mr. Amewu and the Electoral Commission. The State argued in the suit that the High Court’s ruling “constituted a patent error” because it did not have the capacity to hear the matter. More details on the judgement soon Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
We will investigate COVID-19 Fund–Haruna Iddrisu
Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu has hinted that the National Democratic Congress representatives in Parliament are going to make sure that expenditure surrounded by the Coronavirus Pandemic must be investigated. According to the Minority Leader, who was addressing the media after listening to the President State of the Nation Address (SONA) on January 5, 2021, COVID-19 which was allocated to be spent on Public Health was rather diverted to buy votes. “We will be investigating COVID and the money they spend on the election, instead of spending the money on Public Health, they were dishing it around, they were sharing it around men and women across the doors to get votes and the media, you must be interested in one of the most dangerous things Nana Addo has done to our democracy is huge money he used in this election. Going forward to undermine the integrity of any competitive democratic process, it has never happened before. Even at polling station people sharing money and putting money in mask and you think that gives you a democracy?” He lamented Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
LIVESTREAMING: Akufo-Addo’s end of term State of the Nation Address
In accordance with Article 67 of the 1992 Constitution, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is delivering his end of term Address to the Nation in Parliament. The president’s address is happening just two days ahead of the expiration of his first term mandate and he is expected to make an account of his term as president to the legislature in his address. President Akufo-Addo is, however, set to be sworn in for a second term on Thursday, January 7, 2021 having had his mandate renewed by the Ghanaian people in the 2020 presidential election. Watch the president’s end of term State of the Nation Address below: Ghanaweb Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
Do to Mahama what you did to Akufo-Addo in 2012 – Council of Zongo Chiefs to Supreme Court
The Ashanti Regional President of the Council of Zongo Chiefs who doubles as the Frafra Chief, Naaba Musah Akambounga has stated categorically that the members of the association will continue to pray to God (Allah) to let what happened to President Akufo-Addo and NPP in 2012 at the Supreme Court happen to former President John Dramani Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in 2020. NPP led by then Presidential Candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo petitioned the Supreme Court after the 2012 general elections results declaration by the Electoral Commission headed by Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan. The Supreme Court, after several months of hearing and examining evidence, ruled in favour of the NDC and then president of Ghana John Dramani Mahama. The NDC led by former president John Dramani Mahama has this time around petitioned the Supreme Court to challenge the 2020 presidential election results it described as flawed. But the Ashanti Regional President of the Council of Zongo Chiefs Chief Naaba Musah Akambounga speaking in an interview with Pure Fm’s Osei Kwadwo monitored by MyNewsGh.com said: “We all know what happened to NPP and President Akufo-Addo in 2012 when they petitioned the Supreme Court, we are also praying the same thing to happen to NDC and John Dramani Mahama”. According to him, “Ghanaians voted massively for President Akuffo-Addo during 2020 general elections to continue his transformation agenda and his good policies”. “NDC and John Dramani Mahama have every right to go to court to challenge the election results but we believe Allah will make NDC and John Dramani Mahama lose the Supreme Court verdict,” Chief Akambounga said. Chief Naaba Musah Akambounga, however, charged former President John Dramani Mahama to warn NDC supporters to stay away from violence and demonstration as the party has petitioned the Supreme Court. My News Gh Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.