Afia Pokua, popularly known as Vim Lady has descended on media persons who have labelled Nana Ama Mcbrown ungrateful for leaving UTV to TV3.
However, Afia Pokua has defied the odds to be different over Nana Ama McBrown’s departure from UTV to join Onua TV/FM.
Unlike Ola Micheal, Abena Moet and Kwame Nkrumah Tikesi3 who have thrown direct shades to Nana Ama Mcbrown, Vim Lady says it’s normal for any Journalist to switch media houses.
“A job is a contract to exchange SKILLS/TALENT for SALARY. Nobody is doing anyone any favor by employing them. A contract too can be repudiated or abrogated at any time. The same way, me, Abeiku Santana, Kofi Kum Bilson and Obiyaa left Multimedia to join Despite Media, someone can leave and join another company. It’s just a job,” she said.
She continued that; “The OWNERS OF DESPITE MEDIA are okay with McBrown but the disciples are always shouting to gain favor from the bosses. Did McBrown not increase our viewership too? Or did you give her the acting talent too?”
“DO WE SEE FOOTBALL TEAMS ATTACKING PLAYERS WHEN THEY CHANGE TEAMS? My only advice to McBrown is, there are bad colleagues and imperfect systems everywhere so stop granting interviews about your former employers. Take it from someone who has spent over 20 years in this industry and just Shine Your Eyes and Enjoy Your New Job because “emmreyenninka so”. This attack by some Despite Media workers is not cool and gives us a BAD CORPORATE IMAGE”, she concluded.
Ghanaian rapper Medikal has put to rest rumours of separation from his wife Fella Makafui in a public post. The rapper dominated social media conversation last Friday with the release of a song titled ‘Cold & Trophies’ which featured his former lover, Sister Deborah. The move fueled rumours of Medikal’s alleged divorce from Fella, who seemingly deleted all photos of him on her Instagram page.
Sister Derby who described herself as a ‘trophy’ on the track, got the public asking questions on whether she had recaptured the heart of the rapper.
Medikal on Wednesday, March 15, however, settled all scores by declaring his wife as the only woman his heart longs for adding that he will always settle on her as his better half.
The rapper reaffirmed his love for his wife, Fella Makafui.
“If you were a twin, I will still choose you, love you,” he captioned a photo of his wife wearing a broad smile.
The Frimpongs tied the knot three years ago and have been blessed with a daughter, Island Frimpong.
There have been rumours that the marriage of rapper Medikal and his beloved wife Fella Makafui is on the brink of collapse if only it hasn’t already ‘ended in tears.’
This comes as a result of Medikal’s decision to release a song with his ex Sister Derby.
The Northern Elders Forum, NEF, has said the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, would have the most difficult job in the world to handle.
Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, the spokesperson of NEF, said Tinubu would have a lot of challenges to tackle.
Tinubu, who was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, emerged winner of the just-concluded presidential election after polling the highest votes.
Following his victory, Tinubu would be sworn-in as President on May 29.
However, Baba-Ahmed said Tinubu faces challenges in the area of winning the trust of aggrieved Nigerians.
Writing in his weekly column, Baba-Ahmed wrote: “The President to be sworn-in on May 29 will have the most difficult job to handle in the world.
“His biggest challenge will be to win some trust. No leader anywhere can achieve anything of value unless he can get enough citizens to believe that he means well, and he respects them.
“The next president will have to build his own foundations of good and accountable government, because Buhari will leave none behind.”
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike says he never worked against the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi.
Wike, who spoke during a strategic meeting with petroleum marketers in Rivers State claimed he never plotted against any southern presidential candidate during the February 25th presidential election.
The Governor who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Emeka Woke, claimed his position during the presidential election was based on the principles of equity, fairness and Justice.
“You can agree with me that there are a lot of insinuations and misinformation that his excellency worked against the Labour Party presidential candidate.
“I want to stand here to tell you and of course, you know that his excellency is a man who will stand by his words any time any day and speak his mind.
“His excellency did not work against any southern presidential candidate. The position of his excellency is that of equity and fairness.
“The north has done their eight years and so it is time for the south. That is his excellency’s position. He did not hide it, he spoke about it. And so my brothers, there is nothing to shy away from because our hands are clean.” Woke said.
DAILY POST reports that the event had in attendance, national leaders and members of the Petroleum Product Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied appointing a former Commissioner in Lagos State, Femi Odubiyi, as the head of its Information and Communications Technology Department.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, debunked claims made by former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Bode George that the electoral body appointed Odubiyi to its payroll.
Okoye said the claim by the PDP chieftain is false, adding that INEC staff were non-partisan and have not occupied any political position in the past.
“Nothing can be farther from the truth,” Okoye said.
“To set the record straight, the name ‘Femi Odubiyi’ does not even exist within our ICT Department at the INEC headquarters in Abuja or any state office of the Commission.”
According to Okoye, ICT staff members were career officers of the Commission, adding “none has held any political appointment in any state of the Federation.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) has included Nigeria and 54 other countries on its Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List 2023. The global health body stated that the countries face the most pressing health workforce challenges related to universal health coverage.
“In particular, these countries have: 1) a density of doctors, nurses and midwives below the global median (i.e., 49 per 10 000 population); and 2) a universal health coverage service coverage index below a certain threshold,” WHO said in the report released March 8.
A total of 37 countries were listed under the African Region category, including Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Gabon.
Others were Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Only Haiti was named under the Region of the Americas category, while the Eastern Mediterranean Region category comprised Afghanistan, Djibouti, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
Under the South-East Asia Region category were Bangladesh, Nepal, and Timor-Leste. Among the countries listed in the Western Pacific Region category were Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Micronesia (Federated States of), Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Samoa, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said that foreign airlines’ blocked funds in Nigeria have risen to over 743.7 million dollars. IATA disclosed this in a letter written to the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika in Abuja and obtained by Channels Television on Wednesday.
The letter dated March 14, 2023, and signed by the Area Manager, West, and Central Africa, Dr. Samson Fatokun showed that the airline blocked funds rose from $549 million in December 2022 and $662 million in January to $743.7 million.
IATA noted that for over a year, Nigeria has been the country with the highest amount of airlines’ blocked funds in the world.
According to the association, the increasing backlog of international airlines’ blocked funds in Nigeria is a potential threat to foreign direct investment into the country and could affect the operations of airlines leading to job losses.
While appealing to the Minister of Aviation to intervene in resolving the issues, the association also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to clear all airlines blocked funds before leaving office.
Mr. Dan M. Ofori, the State Secretary at Ofori Panin Fie addressing the media in Kyebi on Monday
Cross-section of chiefs and queen mothers at the press conference
The Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council and that of Akyem Kotoku have renewed the ‘war’ over the true owners of Adoagyiri, near Nsawam, in the Eastern Region.
The two traditional areas have once again called press conferences to level accusations and counter accusations against each other.
The Akyem Abuakwa, which was the first to fire the latest ‘missiles’ insisted at a news conference at Kyebi that Adoagyiri is part and parcel of Abuakwa and will continue to remain so.
The State Secretary at Ofori Panin Fie, Dan M. Ofori Atta, who addressed the media said Adoagyiri is a border town and entry point into the Akyem Abuakwa Kingdom from Accra, which is indicated by the Nsawam Bridge across the Densu River.
He explained that the area has since historical times been part of Akyem Abuakwa and falls directly under the Apapam stool, which is an integral part of the Amantuomiensa Group of the Akyem Abuakwa state.
He also argued that the land on which the capital of Kotoku State, Nsuaem, which subsequently became Akyem Oda is situated, was granted rent free to them by the Akyem Abuakwa and Adoagyiri. The latter cannot, therefore, be claimed by any settler community, whether Ga, Ewe, Krobo or Kotoku.
The State Secretary at Ofori Panin Fie continued that, “records indicate that all successive Adoagyiri Chiefs have been part of the Akyem Abuakwa State Council, inclusive in the records are evidence of land transactions”.
Mr. Ofori Atta demonstrated that the late chief of Adoagyiri, Barima Adu Kokor, who passed on in 2007 served the Ofori Panin Stool as the most dedicated and one of the longest reigning chiefs of Akyem Abuakwa, after he was installed in 1953 as Chief of Adoagyiri.”
Ofori Panin Fie further stated that, “the Kotoku citizens, just as other ethnic communities are settlers, granted usufructuary rights and have no allodia right to any land.
“It should be clearly understood that lands by Akan Tradition is the fundamental condition for the exercise of customary right, the two being intricately linked and inseparable and Okyenhene being the allodia owner of the land in Adoagyiri exercising exclusive customary authority”.
According to Ofori Panin Fie, “there are no records that establish that Adoagyiri is and has ever been part of Akyem Kotoku Traditional Area.
“Adoagyiri is not contiguous with any of the lands of the Kotoku State, more than five towns of Akyem Abuakwa separate Adoagyiri from Akyem Kotoku lands”.
The Ofori Panin Fie said this is not the first time Akyem Kotoku State has attempted to lay dubious claim to Akyem Abuakwa lands.
“This situation reflects the growing crisis of land theft as the commercial demand of lands in the southern stretch of the Eastern region has sky-rocketed due to open ended Western expansion of Accra,” Nanamom said.
Nananom averred that Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council has been confronted with similar provocative situations in the past few years and wish to indicate that it will be unable to tolerate such development within those areas.
The Abuakwa State explained that Okyeman is not prepared to secede an inch of its land or tolerate customary violations and wish to indicate that any such infringements will have consequences.
The chiefs stated clearly that there is no Chief of Adoagyiri at the present moment, adding that the general public and particularly land developers who deal with any imposter does so at his or her own risk.
According to the Akyem Abuakwa chiefs, His Majesty Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin has initiated measures for the selection and installation of a legitimate Chief for Adoagyiri.
Responding to the threat and intention of the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council to enstool a new chief, Nkwantahene of Akyem Kotoku State, Nana Dwamena Akenteng, described the position of the former as laughable and child’s play.
According to him, the Akyem Kotoku State is resolved to resist any incursion, factionalism and insecurity in Adoagyiri lands and oppose any attempt to install a rival chief.
“This enterprise of the Okyehene is to legitimise his dark moves of trying to extend his control beyond his traditional borders which action, in the olden days, would have been the basis for starting a war”, he said.
In a counter press conference, the Nkwantahene of Akyem Kotoku State stated that the way is near, but men seek it afar. It is in easy things, but men seek for it in difficult things, adding that Adoagyiri has a substantive chief in the person of Nana Okonadwo Afutu Dompre II, who has been gazetted by the National and Regional Houses of Chiefs for the past seventeen years.
He explained that Adoagyirihene is head of the Ankobiahene Division of Kotoku Kingdom and has since 1860 paid homage to the Kotokuhene, hence it would be a disaster for the enstoolment of a rival chief who would pay homage to Okyenhene.
He has, therefore, called on the security services to call Okyenhene to stop his intention to install a rival chief in order to avert any mayhem, because they are solidly resolved to oppose any incursion.
Both Ghanaian and Ivorien ministers who attended the meeting
Mr Samuel Jinapor speaking on behalf of the Ghanaian delegation
The Government of Ghana has taken steps to resolve trans-boundary issues on river pollution regarding the Tano and Bia rivers, which also flow through Ivory Coast. To this end, the Ministries of Lands and Natural Resources, Sanitation and Water resources, Defence and Environment Science Technology and Innovation have met a high powered delegation from Cote D’ivoire, led by the Ivorian Minister for Water and Forest, Laurent Tchagba.
Ghana’s Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor, who co-chaired the meeting with the Sanitation and Water Resources Minister, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, in Accra yesterday, informed the Ivorian delegation that there have been a lot of challenges in protecting the country’s river bodies. However, government has not relented for once as President Akufo-Addo keeps waging war against illegal miners in the country.
Samuel A. Jinapor, who also spoke on behalf of the Defence Minister, said the Ghana government has adopted a two-pronged approach to fighting illegal Mining, popularly known as galamsey, which is the main source of pollution of the country’s river bodies.
The two-pronged approach, which he mentioned to be law enforcement and reformation, has seen to the declaration of river bodies as red zones to mining and also authorising the involvement of the Military on Operation Halt, an initiative geared towards riding the rivers off illegal miners.
The Lands Minister further stated that although illegal mining continue to pose a threat to the countries river bodies, he is optimistic that after the deliberations, they will be able to come to a firm conclusion that will help resolve the issues of water pollution in both countries, adding that he looks forward to working closely with all stakeholders to come to grips on the matter plaguing both countries.
The Ivorien delegation at the meeting
The Sanitation and Water Resources Minister, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, on her part, noted that water is very central to the well-being of people around the world and not only Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, therefore, it is pertinent to take up the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 6, which advocates for clean water and sanitation for all.
She also hoped that this bilateral meeting will help both countries take cognisance of the far reaching effects of a waterless world and make concrete decisions that will help both countries and the world at large.
The leader of the Ivorian Delegation and Minister for Water and Forests, in his submission expressed his gratitude for a warm reception from all participating Ministries.
He said the issue of water is important in the history of both countries as it binds them in one way or the other and hoped that together they will be able to confer on issues and resolve the common challenge.
Also at the Bilateral Meeting on the Ghana side were the Minister for Environment Science Technology and Innovation, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, CEOs of the Minerals Commission and Environmental Protection Agency, Mr. Martin Ayisi and Dr. Henry Kwabena Kokofu respectively.
Cassiel Ato Forson, Minority Leader and Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
National Cathedral
The Minority Caucus in Parliament has called on the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and the National Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral to abrogate the project now.
The North Tongu Member of Parliament and the sole campaigner against the National Cathedral project, Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who spoke on behalf of the Caucus, said that yesterday marked exactly a year since the contractors working on the project abandoned it for lack of funds.
According to Mr. Ablakwa, this should serve as enough proof to President Akufo-Addo and members of the National Board of Trustees that the project was a castle in the air.
“Today marks exactly a year to the day when the main contractors working on the National Cathedral project abandoned site …So, today is the first anniversary since the project stalled.
“What we are very worried about is that a year is enough time for His Excellency the President, who has declared this project his priority of priorities, and those remaining on the National Cathedral Board of Trustees; one year is enough time for them to come to the realisation that this project remains a castle in the air…
“It is time to close shop; it is time to totally abandon this project, because it cannot be completed as schedule,” he said.
He made the call when he and other Minority members addressed the Parliament Press Corps yesterday.
Providing more basis as to why the project should be abrogated, Mr. Ablakwa said that due to the suspension a lot of the works that had been done must be redone, and that would come at extra cost, which would not be borne by the contractors, but by the state.
“This one year of remarkable inactivity comes at considerable cost, as per analysis it would cost [extra] millions of dollars,” he stressed.
He said considering the delays and the associated cost of facilities that were pulled down to make way for the construction of the Cathedral, Mr. Ablakwa said, the project could cost one billion dollars.
“That is why we are saying that President Akufo-Addo, on the first anniversary of inactivity, we demand that they abrogate the contract, because we believe that as long as the contractors continue to hold valid contracts, it is [an] extra burden to the Ghanaian taxpayer.
“One year is enough for the Akufo-Addo government to realise that this project, which, per our analysis, will cost the Ghanaian taxpayer over one billion dollars, must not be continued,” Mr. Ablakwa said.
Mr. Ablakwa also pointed out that the country was facing difficult times, and so money must be used prudently.
He said the government was struggling to pay bonds that had matured; unable to procure vaccines and do so many things that would reduce the sufferings of the citizens.
He said the President and the National Board of Trustees should consider all these hardships and let go of the project.
