Oppong Nkrumah Reveals Ongoing Terrorists Recruitment in Ghana
Ghana’s Information Minister kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, has revealed that, terrorist groups operating with the West African sub-region are currently recruiting some Ghanaians to aid their cause. According to him, activities along the borders of Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast are being heightened in recent times due to the killing of some civilians, therefore, the government of Ghana is beefing up security along the country’s borders to prevent any possible attacks. Speaking on Asaase radio, Monday, July 19, the minister explained, “I am sad to say that our security situation in West Africa is getting a bit more precarious and we are having to pay a lot more attention to it than before. “Terrorism and piracy are some of our biggest security threats today around West Africa. If you look at the numbers and how close, it is getting home…” He added: “And the fact that now we have reason to believe that some recruitments have gone on here in Ghana, participating in the West Africa terrorism enterprise, there is a lot more that needs to be done.” Oppong-Nkrumah noted that, the government under the leadership of President Nana Akufo-Addo has done a lot, “more troops, more equipment have been moved up North.” In May, there were various reports of some armed pirates kidnapping at least five crew members onboard a fishing vessel at Tema harbour. According to eyewitnesses, the vessel was approached by a skiff with eight persons onboard. Five of the alleged armed pirates according to the report seized the vessel for at least six hours, disembarking with five crew members onboard, which includes the captain, chief officer, second chief officer, chief engineer and boatswain’s mate. “They also stole belongings and valuables of the crew,” a security source told Asaase radio. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
BREAKING NEWS: Kennedy Agyapong Honored With New Post As Board Chairman -See Full Detail
Maverick millionaire and lawmaker Kennedy Agyapong has been appointed board chairman of Ghana Gas Company by President Akufo-Addo. “We want to assure you that we are going to corporate with you and we are going to ensure that the right thing is done,” the Assin Central MP said in his acceptance speech after a swearing-in ceremony by the Energy Minister Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh today. Other members of the nine-member board are Mr. Ben KD Asante, the Managing Director of the company; Mr. John Darko, Mrs. Adelaide Mary Benneh; Awulae Amihere Kpanyinli; Mr Abraham Ossei Aidooh; Madam Delphine Dogbegah; Nana Owusu Ansah Ababio, and Mr. Stephen Sumani Nayina as members. Dr. Prempeh charged the new Board to tackle the operational challenges of the company earnestly. He said the nomination and swearing-in of the Board signified the President’s trust in them and therefore they must justify the confidence. “Your nomination is indicative of His Excellency President Akufo Addo’s confidence in your individual and collective abilities to steer the affairs of one of the key state-owned companies in Ghana’s energy sector. You are by this appointment expected to provide direction and leadership in the day-to-day running of the nation’s premiere mid-stream gas business company” See also He Is The Most Pampared President Ever In The History of Ghana; John Mahama’s Aide Descends On President Nana Akufo Addo Dr. Opoku Prempeh reiterated his approach of discouraging intra-energy sector debts where indebtedness was affecting the seamless operations of companies. He therefore charged the Board of Ghana Gas to ensure that all debts owed the company are paid regularly. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Akufo-Addo trips: I can’t tell you cost; go to Nat’l Security for it – Ofori-Atta swerves Ablakwa again
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has said President Nana Akufo-Addo’s trips are a matter of national security and, thus, any questions regarding the cost of such trips should be directed at the Ministry of National Security. “Mr Speaker, the president’s domestic and international travels are matters of National Security”, Mr Ofori-Atta told parliament on Wednesday, 21 July 2021, adding: “The National Security Minister is best placed to furnish this Honourable House with the details needed.” He said in line with the 2021 budget implementation instructions, “the Ministry of Finance did not release any funds to the Chief of Staff, especially for His Excellency, the President’s trip to France, Belgium, and South Africa”. Mr Ofori-Atta was expected to give an account of how much was expended by the state on President Nana Akufo-Addo’s nine-day international trip a few weeks ago. When he appeared in parliament in mid-June for that purpose, Mr Ofori-Atta asked the house to give him more time to gather his figures so he could account to the people of Ghana about the trip to France, Belgium and South Africa. The question was filed by North Tongu MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa. Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul answered his part of the question on Wednesday, 16 June 2021 on the floor. While answering the question, Mr Nitiwul said Ghana’s presidential jet is not fit for purpose for President Nana Akufo-Addo’s international trips, thus, the president’s resort to chartering a private jet. The Bimbilla MP said: “This aircraft will carry a load of 11 persons minus the crew. When this aircraft is travelling to the eastern part of the USA or Asia, it will not load a crew of more than eight plus the luggage”. “So, it depends on where it is going”, he noted. Secondly, he added, “I have also said the aircraft has to do refuelling stops and, also, in this COVID-19 [era], when you are travelling to multiple destinations like the president’s recent travels, the Falcon couldn’t have been taken because he would have had to do technical stops, which are not desirable”. “And when he is travelling with more than 20 people like he has been doing for business trips that brought huge sums of money to this country, he will need more than just a Falcon, otherwise, the others would have to go a day ahead before the president to prepare themselves.” “In fact, the president would also have to go a day ahead because no president can shower in this aircraft. He cannot move from this aircraft straight into a meeting”, Mr Nitiwul said. A few weeks ago, Mr Ablakwa accused the president of spending GHS 2.8 million on the trip. In the heat of the controversy, the Minority in Parliament said President Akufo-Addo could have used Ghana’s “airworthy” presidential jet, Falcon 9Gexe, instead of chartering the £15,000-per-hour “lavish, ostentatious and extravagant” AJC320neo flight he recently used for his 9-day trip abroad that cumulatively cost the Ghanaian taxpayer £345,000 (GHS2,828,432.80). “Today, we want to present to you further evidence that we are definitely certain that the presidential jet is available, in good shape”, Mr Ablakwa told journalists on Friday, 28 May 2021. According to him, on 11 May 2021 – five days ahead of his 9-day trip – the president used the presidential jet to Uganda to attend the ceremony swearing-in of President-elect Yoweri Museveni. Denying claims that the Falcon cannot travel long hours without refueling, Mr Ablakwa said the president’s Uganda trip on the presidential jet was 5h:4m while his Paris trip took six-and-a-half hours. “The Minority insists that the Falcon could have been used”, Mr Ablakwa stressed. “One, the Falcon is airworthy and it took this same president to Uganda only a few days prior to the 16th of May when the president departed to Paris with this rather luxurious monster; the most outstanding, extravagant, luxurious airbus aircraft to be manufactured – the Airbus AJC320neo, which originally was manufactured to take 150 people at the minimum but it has been reconfigured to take only 17 people so a luxurious empire can be created”, he said. In the Minority’s view, instead of the president using the chartered flight, which has a master bedroom, an en-suite bathroom with showers, dining facilities for all 17 passengers and sophisticated IT connectivity installations, he could have opted for other chartered flights from the same company, Acropolis Aviation. “First of all, our contention is that the Falcon is available”, he stressed, emphasising: “It’s airworthy”. “If it can take you to Uganda safely, it can take you to Paris safely and Brussels, Belgium safely”, he argued. “So, the point we are trying to emphasise is that in this time of austerity, where the president himself has said: Times are rough; let’s bear with him’, … the president himself embarked on this trip to go and beg for debt forgiveness and this is how you go and beg for debt forgiveness when the person you are going to beg for debt forgiveness from doesn’t travel in such luxury, in such ostentation”, noting: “The level of extravagance, the extreme opulence that the president displayed is condemnable, unconscionable”. “How do you think these western leaders will perceive African leaders? No wonder they have very little respect for a lot of our leaders but we cannot continue this way”, Mr Ablakwa said. —Classfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Akufo-Addo names COP Dr George Akuffo Dampare as acting IGP
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo the President of the Republic of Ghana has appointed Commissioner of Police (COP) Dr George Akuffo Dampare as acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP). Dr Dampare is the current Director-General in charge of Administration at the Ghana Police Service. He replaces the current IGP James Oppong-Boanuh. Profile of Dr George Akuffo Dampare: Dr George Akuffo Dampare is the youngest Acting Inspector–General of Police (IGP) to be appointed in the fourth Republic and the eighth youngest since Ghana gained independence. Prior to this appointment, he was the most senior police officer after the just retired IGP. Dr Dampare joined the Ghana Police Service (GPS) as a Constable in December 1990 at age 20 and rose through the ranks to become Commissioner of Police (COP) 24 years later at age 44 in 2014, the rank he held until his appointment. In 1991, on completion of his recruit training, Dr Dampare was adjudged the overall Best Recruit at the National Police Training School and won all awards except the award for the ‘Best Marksman’. Again in 1996, he emerged the overall Best Cadet for the 32nd Cadet Officers’ Course at the Ghana Police Academy (formerly, Police College) and won all awards, including Excellence in Professional Police Subjects and Excellence in Academic Subjects. During his over thirty-year career as a police officer, Dr Dampare has made significant contributions to policing in Ghana and beyond as enumerated below: At the leadership and management level, Dampare has had the rare privilege of serving as the Head (Director-General) of almost every major department, giving him greater insight into the administration of policing in Ghana. Specifically, Dr Dampare has been Director-General for Administration and Director-General for Welfare twice. He has also served as Director-General for MTTD, Director-General for Research & Planning, Director-General for Operations, Director-General for ICT, Director-General for Finance and Director-General for National Patrol Department (Police Visibility Department). Other leadership positions Dr Dampare previously held include Commandant of the Police Command and Staff College, Accra Regional Police Commander, Regional Commander for Railways, Ports and Harbour (now Police Marine Department), Municipal Commander for Cape-Coast and Chief Internal Auditor of the GPS. Between 2010 and 2015, under the leadership of two IGPs, Messrs. Paul Tawiah Quaye and Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan, Dampare led and coordinated the ‘National Anti-armed Robbery Reward to Informant Initiative’, which saw the arrest and prosecution of many notorious armed robbers across the country. As the Director-General for National Operations, Dr Dampare created an efficient system where fragmented units were consolidated to create effective and complete departments such as the establishment of an Anti-armed Robbery Unit (the COMBAT Unit) to aggressively fight robbery and other violent crimes. He also created the Intelligence Unit within the National Operations Department, which later informed the creation of a Police Intelligence Department at the national level. As Accra Regional Police Commander, Dampare introduced an innovative and proactive policing strategy called the “Continuous Stakeholder Engagement Programme” where all stakeholders were included and involved in policing the Region. For the first time, through this initiative, the Ghana Police Service under his leadership, visited Political Parties in their offices to engage them. As Director-General in charge of Welfare, Dr Dampare introduced an innovative social welfare scheme where he led officers from the Department to visit the homes of scores of sick and bedridden police officers across the country, and also introduced strategic medical interventions to facilitate their wellness. Still at Welfare, Dampare initiated a process at Dodowa and Kasoa to reclaim lands owned and paid for by police officers. The matter had become a national security threat as many officers were angry at the failure of the leadership of the police administration to intervene in the situation which had lasted for close to a decade. In 2013, under the leadership of the then Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan, Dr Dampare led a team of officers, working day and night, to restructure the Armoured Car Squadron (ACS) Unit into the Formed Police Unit (FPU) within a record time of ten (10) weeks. This task had remained impossible for over fifteen years. The FPU has now become one of the police units undertaking internal police operations and international peacekeeping missions under the United Nations and African Union. As the Director-General of the National Patrol Department (Police Visibility Department) and under the leadership of the then IGP, Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan, Dampare supervised the implementation of the novel “Police Visibility” programme which saw the presence of police personnel at most intersections and communities in Ghana. Again, during the implementation of the vision of the then IGP, Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan, for the creation of the Police Service Command and Staff College at Winneba and the Police Service Public Safety Training School at Pwalugu, Dr Dampare was the leader of the technical teams that ensured the full operationalization of these two specialist training institutions. Dampare is credited with the idea that led to the establishment of the office of the Armourer-General which serves as the central point for accounting for arms and ammunitions within the Ghana Police Service as well as the establishment of the Service Enquiry Monitoring Unit (SEMU) with the responsibility of managing the GPS disciplinary system. As Coordinator of the National Inter-Ministerial Task Force for the 2007 Ghana Floods which was under the overall leadership of Dr Mrs Mary Chinnery-Hesse (then Chief Advisor to H.E. President J.A. Kufuor), Dr Dampare led a team, within a seven-month period, to develop and implement a National Disaster Management Model, which brought all United Nations Agencies, Red Cross and Civil Society organisations, among others, together, to successfully manage the disaster. As Director-General for Finance, Dampare led a Police Technical Implementation Team to work with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, to migrate the Police Service onto the Single Spine Salary Structure as the first institution in the country to successfully complete the migration. Still as Director-General for Finance, Dampare also introduced the payment of recruits’ allowances through the bank by getting them bank accounts as
VIDEO: Kennedy Agyapong Caught On Video Boasting That The President Is In ‘Full Support’ Of His Threats Against Journalists
Kennedy Agyapong Caught On Video Boasting That The President Is In ‘Full Support’ Of His Threats Against Journalists Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Hon. Kennedy Agyapong has incurred the wrath of journalists in the country after threatening to have Erastus Asare Donkor of Luv FM beaten to a pulp. This is not the first time the controversial parliamentarian has threatened a journalist in the full glare of the public. It can be recalled that this same MP put Ahmed Hussein Suale of blessed memory in harm’s way by putting his photo and location out there, encouraging his minions to beat him wherever they sighted him. Not so coincidentally, Ahmed Suale was gunned down in his neighborhood a few weeks later. Somehow Mr. Agyapong has escaped any punishment for the death of Ahmed Suale and is still going around threatening journalists for doing their work. In light of this, his recent threats against Erastus Donkor are being accorded the seriousness it deserves. The Assin Central MP was recorded to have said on NET2 about Erastus that “He is so annoying. For the foolish submissions he made before the parliamentary committee, we have to beat the hell out of him. If I were the president, I would have ordered this boy to be whipped.” Well, it appears Mr. Kennedy Agyapong is emboldened to make statements like this because according to him, the President of Ghana Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is in “full support” of his gangster behaviour. In the leaked video below, Kennedy Agyapong is heard trash-talking Kwaku Baako and Anas Aremeyaw Anas, while admitting that the president approves of his misbehaviour. WATCH VIDEO
VIRAL VIDEO: Humanoid Unveiled in Japan? It’s Actually a Video Game Promo
The video is from an adventure game ‘Detroit: Become Human,’ which was released in 2018 CLAIM A video of a human robot being interviewed by a journalist is going viral on social media with a claim that the robot was “unveiled in Japan a few days ago.” The robot, which identifies itself as Chloe, talks to the interviewer about its abilities, giving credit to the humans who have developed it. It speaks about passing the turning test which is a way to determine if a computer counts as “intelligence.” The video has been shared with the caption, “Perhaps you won’t believe it.. this woman is a robot that was unveiled by Japan a few days ago. Welcome to the future!” A screenshot of the video being shared on Facebook with the claim. (Photo Courtesy: Facebook) The video has also been shared on Twitter. A screenshot of the video being shared on Twitter with the claim. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter)TRUE OR FALSE? The claim that the robot was unveiled in Japan in the past week as a futuristic step is false. The video is from an adventure game ‘Detroit: Become Human,’ which has been developed by Quantic Dream, and was released in 2018. The viral video is a part of an interview, which was released by the makers to introduce people to the key moments in the universe and set the stage for the story of the game. WHAT WE FOUND OUT On fragmenting the video into several keyframes and then conducting a reverse image search, we came across a tweet by an adventure game ‘Detroit: Become Human,’ which introduced Chloe’s character. The tweet dated back to May 2018. The Twitter handle shared a picture of the same robot seen in the video with the caption: “Meet Chloe, the very first personal assistant android built by Cyberlife. In 2022, this model was also the first one to pass the Turing Test (in reference to the virtual world).” Also Read Did Muslims Beat an Old Sikh Man? No, Cops Deny Communal Angle Detroit: Become Human is a game from French director and writer David Cage. Cage’s studio Quantic Dream is known for creating an extremely specific sort of interactive drama, one that prizes cinematic narrating to the exclusion of everything else. The game was released exclusively for PS4 on 25 May 2018. The official Twitter handle of the game also shared a video link of the interview, which took place between Chloe and a journalist from KNC (an American basic cable and satellite television news channel in the virtual world). The shorts titled “Chloe” give insight into the futuristic world of humans and androids that the full game explores. Hence, the claim that the video shows a human robot in Japan is false. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Army recruitment: Thousands turn up for medical screening at El-Wak Stadium
Thousands of young Ghanaians thronged the El Wak Sports Stadium on Monday, July 19, 2021, in Accra to participate in a documentation and medical screening process for recruitment into the Ghana Armed Forces. According to the Commanding Officer for the 5th Infantry Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Prince Tandoh, those who showed up for the exercise included Senior High School graduates, and tertiary degree and diploma holders. The screening process, which began as early as 7 am, will end on Saturday, July 24, 2021. Lieutenant Colonel Prince Tandoh said an aptitude test will be taken by persons who successfully pass the first stage of documentation and medical screening. Since 2017, the Ghana Armed Forces have not recruited any individual into the service. In May this year, the Daily Graphic published an announcement from the Ghana Armed Forces informing the public of the commencement of a recruitment exercise. From as early as 4 am, some young Ghanaians from across the country besieged the El-Wak Stadium and joined a queue which went as far as the Cantonments Post Office. Those gathered at the venue were expected to submit their credentials for documentation and medical screening. Those who made it inside the stadium were asked to sit on the ground in groups as they waited to go through the process. The applicants, made up of mostly unemployed young people, say the first stage has been stressful. They are hopeful of being among the few to be recruited. “As I entered, I felt pressure because the people here were too many. I did not even expect to finish early,” one of the applicants said. Commanding Officer for the 5th Infantry Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Prince Tandoh told Citi News that the military would ensure the adherence to all Covid-19 protocols in the ongoing process. “Only those with print-out forms will be allowed to come in, and you can also see that we have sanitisers and veronica buckets around, so we are doing our best to maintain the protocols.” Source: citinews Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
My daughter’s $1m gift was a ‘faith cheque’, not a real one – Sam Korankye Ankrah
General Overseer for the Royal house Chapel International, Sam Korankye Ankrah, has described the $1 million gift given to his daughter on her wedding day as a ‘faith cheque’. This comes after the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), in a letter sighted by Myjoyonline.com summoned Naa Dromo Korankye-Ankrah for tax returns on her wedding gift. However, explaining the motive behind the presentation ahead of the meeting, Rev. Korankye-Ankrah said the donors were acting by faith. “Sometimes when you hear these things you need to have information and you need to know what to say and you need to answer them because here there is transparency and there is nothing to hide. “The cheque was a ‘faith cheque’, not a real one. These young people are saying that they believe that one day on occasion like this they can be able to present a cheque of $1 million. That is the statement that they are making,” he explained. Last week, General Overseer’s daughter received the dummy cheque from her friends as her wedding gift in a colourful ceremony that got social media talking. Many people expressed mixed feelings about the practice, after which the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) issued a letter to the newlywed, demanding tax on the gift. But Apostle Korankye Ankrah insisted that; “they presented the dummy cheque of $1 million but people did not get the idea behind the presentation.” According to him, the rationale behind the gesture was misconstrued because the public “thought it was real money.” “Quickly they turned the headlines, ‘Sam Ankrah gifts to his daughter who got wedded $1million’ and the thing went viral.” Speaking to his congregants, the Apostle General further said; “I thank God that they are prophesying that one day, I’ll be able to gift my daughter one million dollars. The cheque is a faith cheque. I am being very careful at the moment how to choose my words because I do not want to present them in a manner that looks like they are joking. Because what you think is fun today, will become a reality tomorrow.” Rev. Korankye-Ankrah subsequently urged the public to disregard any claims that his daughter has received $1 million as a gift from her friends during her wedding. —Joynews Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
BREAKING NEWS: Armed Robbers killed another illustrious soul in Upper East Region
A local based musician cum nurse with the Bawku West District Hospital in the Upper East Region has been reportedly shot and murdered by suspected armed robbers on the popular Bolgatanga-Bawku road. The deceased, 31-year-old Ishmael Pumi Bashiru also known as Prince is said to have been attacked by the alleged armed robbers this morning at the Tilli stretch of the Bolgatanga-Bawku road in the Bawku West District and shot at close range on his face several times. He was reportedly rushed to the Bawku West District Hospital for medical care but was transferred to the Tamale Teaching Hospital where he passed on. Meanwhile, David Fianko-Okyere the Upper East Regional Police Public Affairs Officer has since confirmed the incident to the media. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093