Odi News Network

Nana Addo and Mr Joof The Chairperson of the Gambia Human Rights Commission, Mr. Emmanuel Daniel Joof has said Ghana has an obligation to ensure it gets justice and compensation for the 44 Ghanaians who were unlawfully killed in the Gambia in 2005. He urged Ghana to re-open an investigation into the unlawful killing and ultimately seek the extradition and trial in Ghana of named perpetrators of the gruesome extrajudicial killing, adding that where this is difficult, Ghana should put pressure on the Government of the Gambia to seek the extradition of perpetrators who are not in the Gambia to face justice in The Gambia. “The Ghanaian authorities should also seek the extradition and trial in Ghana of named perpetrators who may not be on Gambian soil but have been implicated in the gruesome murders. Or where this is difficult, the Ghanaian authorities should put pressure to bear on the Government of the Gambia to seek the extradition of these perpetrators to face justice in The G

First Lady of The Republic, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo yesterday met executives of the Ghana Rice Inter-professional body at her Office in Accra. Accompanied by officers of the JAK Foundation, the visit was to afford the Association appeal to the First Lady to join them in the campaign to patronise Ghana rice. They said government’s initiatives in the agricultural sector including rice production were yielding results thus the need for the body to embark on a campaign to ensure that their produce is consumed. The First Lady congratulated them on their initiative and assured them of her unflinching support. She said government’s  Planting for Food and Jobs policy had  led to significant increase in foodstuff on the market and so the need to develop creative ways to ensure that they are patronised to ensure their continuous production. Apart from the opportunity to create more jobs through its consumption, Mrs. Akufo-Addo also emphasised on the nutritional properties o

Kwabena Owusu Denkyira The Atwima Nwabiagya North constituency of the ruling New Patriotic Party(NPP), has suspended three of it's executives at Atwima Koforidua on what they described as harassment and hooting of the  Member of Parliament, Hon Benito Owusu Bio. They are, Kwabena Owusu Denkyira(Amando), Youth Organizer at Atwima Koforidua L/A Middle School, Prince Boakye, Organizer at Atwima Koforidua CAC "A" and Prince Adu Gyamfi, Organizer at Koforidua Market Square "B". According to a letter signed by the constituency secretary, Isaac K Dawuni on 29th November, 2019, these executives have been suspended with immediate effect from misconduct until clearance by the Constituency Disciplinary Committee. On 2nd December, 2019 after the suspension of these executives, another letter signed by the Constituency Disciplinary Committee secretary, Mr Stephen Amankwa was sent to them(suspended executives), inviting them to appear before the Committee to an

H E Samira Bawumia The National Youth Wing of the New Patriotic Party, will on Friday,  December 6, 2019 hold the National Youth Conference in the Northern Regional Capital of Tamale.  In climaxing the Youth Wing's activities for the year, the conference will attract all of the NPP's Youth leaders and activists. They will be joined by many of the party's big shots to brainstorm ideas as we  mount a spirited campaign to retain power in 2020. The youthful, elegant and eloquent Second Lady of the Republic of Ghana, H. E  Mrs. Samira Bawumia is the Special Guest of Honour for the Youth Conference. The Second Lady, the youngest in the fourth Republic has since bursting on the  scene, carved a niche in delivering powerful and excellent speeches. She is expected to stoke the spirit of volunteerism, diligence, dedication and bravery among the youth as the party prepares for the 2020 general elections. The conference will come off at the Multi Purpose Hall of the  Universit

The Electoral Commission of Ghana has been advised to set a separate date for the on election of MMDCEs. According to Operation Save the Surfering Masses(OSSM), a Human Rights Advocacy group, conducting District Assembly Elections and  the referendum on the same day could be conflicting and therefore advising the EC to set a separate date for the referendum on the election of MMDCEs. The Electoral Commission (EC) has settled on December 17, this year for the referendum on the election of metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs). Earlier, the EC had fixed December 10, 2019, for the referendum. The government has activated a process to amend two clauses in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana to pave the way for the election of MMDCEs and to allow for political participation in local level elections. The direct election of MMDCEs was a campaign promise of successful presidential candidate Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2016 general elections. The proposed changes wou

Central Prisons, Kumasi A 16 year old boy, Abdallah Mohammed who was jailed 25 years over Gh¢10 theft has been transferred from Kumasi Central Prisons to Cape Coast Maximum Prisons to serve the rest of his 15 years jail term, Corruption Watch (CW) can confirm. The reason for his transfer is yet to be known, but a reliable source close to this network said Abdallah Mohammed, now 26 years woke up one morning only to be told by the prisons authorities in Kumasi that he(Abdallah) will serve the rest of his jail term at Cape Coast Maximum Prisons, a decision which came as a shock to Abdallah Mohammed. According to our investigations, Abdallah did not get any opportunity to communicate with his family about this latest development, and it took two weeks before they heard what happened to their embattled son. The family of Abdallah Mohammed, has made claims that he was 16 years old when the court sentenced him to a 25-year jail term in the Kumasi Central Prison for robbing someone o

Nana Afia Broni The 2018/2019 Ashanti Regional best female Akan News Caster(Foklex), Nana Afia Broni(Hajia Mama Gee) has said the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) programme being introduced to public schools by the Ministry of Education is dangerous for the country. The Ministry of Education has indicated that the CSE will develop skills of children for self-development but, Nana Afia Broni seem to disagree. According to the renowned journalist, it as a deliberate attempt to introduce homosexuality to Ghana. Nana Afia Broni believes that the introduction of CSE is satanic education being labeled as health education to destroy the future of our children. She expressed worry about how her  children are going to be taught by their teachers on how to have sex and derive pleasures from it and how they are going to practice it at home. Source: Ghana/odinews85.blogspot.com

Dr Nsiah Asare Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, Director General, Ghana Health Service has said that A Distribution centre for the delivery of essential medicines using drone technology has been completed in Mampong in the Ashanti Region. The centre, which will start operations by the end of October 2019, brings to two the number of distribution centres in the country. The first centre was established at Omenako in the Eastern Region in April 2019. The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, who disclosed this, said the Mampong centre was currently being test run, and that it would provide emergency medical drone delivery services for hospitals in the middle belt of the country, comprising the Ashanti, Ahafo, Bono and Bono East regions, as well as parts of the Eastern and Volta regions. Occasion Dr Nsiah-Asare was speaking at a “Medical Knowledge Fiesta 2019”, a conference organised by the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons to build

Martin Kyere Families of the 44 Ghanaians who were killed in the Gambia in 2005 and the known lone survivor of that massacre, Martin Kyere, are asking government to share with them, its course of action on their case, following the confessions by two Gambian soldiers that they participated in the killings on the orders of Yahya Jammeh, ex president of the Gambia. A statement signed by Martin Kyere on behalf of the victims’ families and himself on 8th August 2019, said Government had not reached out to them or informed the public about its course of action to secure justice for them following the widely publicized confessions by the two Gambian soldiers, Lieutenant Malick Jatta and Corporal Omar A. Jallow at the Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) last month. The statement expressed disappointment that inspite of the live video confessions by the two soldiers, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Madam Shirley Ayorkor Bot

Director of GHS, Anthony Nsiah-Asare The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has declared a public health emergency following the detection of the poliovirus type-2 in the Northern Region capital, Tamale. A public health emergency, according to the WHO, is "an occurrence or imminent threat of an illness or health condition, caused by bioterrorism, epidemic or pandemic disease, or (a) novel and highly fatal infectious agent or biological toxin, that poses a substantial risk of a significant number of human facilities or incidents or permanent or long-term disability.” The declaration of a state of public health emergency allows the government to suspend state regulations and change the functions of state agencies. Following the declaration, the GHS has detailed field investigations to identify the possible source of infection and determine the extent of geographic spread. Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, Director of the GHS, explained in a statement issued on Wednesday, July 10 that the detectio

Ibrahim Mahama owns Exton Cubic mining company The Supreme Court has set July 31 to rule on an application filed by the Attorney General asking the justices to quash a decision by a High Court in a case between the mining company, Exton Cubic and the state. On February 8, 2019, the High Court ruled that, the Natural Resources Minister John Peter Amewu had no power to revoke the mining licenses granted to Exton Cubic to prospect for bauxite. The motion filed ex-parte by the Deputy Attorney General Godfred Dame says the ruling by High Court presided over by Justice Ackaah Boafo in the case could undermine efficient administration of justice. He said the company breached several processes in its acquisition of a mining license, a situation that makes it impossible for Exton Cubic to be deemed to have a “mining right as required by law.” Arguing their case before the Supereme Court on Wednesday, Mr Dame said the proceedings of the high court was in violation of Act 703 section 27(1), s

File Photo Ghanaians no longer need a visa to travel to South Africa. This is because the South African Government has added Ghana to the list of its visa-free countries. This was captured in a post on South Africa’s Home Affairs Twitter handle. Other countries that were added to the list of visa-free countries include Qatar, United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Cuba and Sao Tome and Principe. A separate statement from the Home Affairs Minister, Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi said: “Out of the 193 countries who are member states of the United Nations, the Department has granted visa-free status to 75 countries.” He said, out of the number “16 are in our [African] continent and are SADC members and 59 are from all over the world.” He went on further to announce seven countries that have been added to the visa-free list which included Ghana. Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi said they “will immediately enter into discussions with them about how a visa-free regime will work. We still have some

Attorney-General, Gloria Akuffo Ms Gloria Afua Akuffo, the Attorney-General has asked the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) to open itself to the public but to avoid running commentary on its investigations. According to her speaking in public about their investigations could only frustrates their efforts as well as give out too much information to criminals to change their mode of operations. “Criminals are always waiting to cover their tracks and therefore coming out to speak constantly about a matter, makes it easier for them to cover up and therefore frustrating the outcome of the investigations,” she stressed. She advised that the statutory body should avoid following rumours and suspicions so as not to not embarrass themselves. Ms Akuffo said this at EOCO’s maiden national stakeholders’ forum in Accra aimed at interacting with stakeholders and share information on cases investigated, prosecutions and convictions obtained as well as recoveries and confiscations made.

Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul Defence minister Dominic Ntiwul has rejected suggestions his ethnicity is a hindrance in resolving the protracted Chereponi conflict in the North-East region. The minister who is Konkomba said his successful mission to engage the Konkombas and Chokosis last Friday shows his ethnicity is not a barrier to peace. “If the people see us as part of the problem, they would not listen to us,” the Defence minister explained on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show Tuesday. Chereponi is haemorrhaging vital service providers as teachers, health professionals and a host of government workers abandon the volatile area.  The latest round of violence in the Konkomba-dominated district, where Chokosis remain the minority, marked the third of such incidents in the past five months. Two persons died. The toll of the fighting includes loss of properties, delayed development and humanitarian challenges. Junior High School students are set to write a nationally administered B

Vice President Bawumia The Chiefs and people of Menji in the Tain District of the Bono Region have enstooled the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, as Nkabomhene (Unity Chief) in recognition of his enduring crusade for unity and peaceful co-existence of persons with different religious persuasions. The leadership of the Muslim community have also conferred a special award on him for his ongoing efforts to champion the cause of the poor and underprivileged. The honours were conferred on Dr. Bawumia at Menji near Nsawkaw on Monday, 27th May 2019 at a mini durbar organised by the chiefs in conjunction with the Muslim community after the Vice President joined Muslim faithful to perform the Zuhr prayers at Menji, as part of his annual Ramadan tour. Speaking on behalf of the chiefs, the Gyaasehene of Menji, Alhaji Amadu Bamba, said Vice President Bawumia’s quest to ensure peace and unity between persons of different religious beliefs, which is reflected in his annual Ramadan Tour, is a

The Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG) has called off its planned two-day demonstration against the government over what it describes as political interference in its work. This is because government has set up a joint committee to look into the grievances expressed by the members and leadership of the association. When Graphic Online visited the head office of CLOGSAG Tuesday, May 28, 2019, it saw many of the members of the association wearing red armbands. The association also held a closed-door meeting, details of which have not been disclosed.  Notices posted by CLOGSAG on tress and buildings at the Ministries in Accra read, among others as: "The Civil Service and Local Government Service are not private companies owned by ministers or political appointees. Mr Minister, if you cannot abide by the rules of the services, leave now. We are fed up with your impunity and disregard for procedures." The CLOGSAG Chairman for the Accra Metropolitan a

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has called for the licensing of journalists to help curtail the disrespect for the profession. According to Mr Kufuor, the media has, in the past, produced fine practitioners, hence the need to protect the sanctity of the profession. He added that during his term as president, his government was not only committed to strengthening the media landscape but also deepening democracy to enable the media to contribute immensely to the shaping of government policies. The former Ghanaian leader made the comments at the launch of the 70th Anniversary of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) in Accra on Tuesday, 28 May 2019. Mr Kufuor observed that Ghana's darkest day had been when the media was muzzled, hence, commended President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for giving his assent to the Right to Information Bill. Mr Kufuor further charged the leadership of the GJA to ensure that its members are monitored frequently and protected from assault. Mr Kufuo