Member of Parliament from Tamale Central, Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, asserts that the minority caucus is devoted to ensuring fairness in the 2024 elections.
He claims that although the caucus is aware of efforts to deny voting rights to some Ghanaians, such an action will be opposed.
“We will do everything humanly possible to ensure that the people of this country are not unjustifiably disenfranchised,” he said on JoyNews on Wednesday.
Mr Muhammed explained that the NDC is prepared to accept the outcome of the 2024 elections if it is transparent.
“We will not allow anybody to be disenfranchised in this country. Let’s go into the elections freely and fairly, don’t disenfranchise anybody,” he said.
His comments come on the back of the push by the Electoral Commission (EC) for the Constitutional Instrument (CI) which would make the Ghana Card the sole document for the registration of voters.
This, the Minority side of the House has vehemently resisted.
However, when the EC boss appeared before Parliament on Tuesday, February 28, she attributed her push for the CI to the 40,000 names expunged from the voter register due to the guarantor system.
This number she believes has the capacity to decide who leads the country.
Meanwhile, the former Deputy of Trade and Industry Minister alleged that the EC is being managed by New Patriotic Party activists who will do anything in their power to ensure the party wins elections.
“That is why we told Jean Mensa that if there is chaos and anarchy as a result of either her incompetence or because she is an NPP activist. …It was proven in court during the petition that she is indeed a family member of the first lady. She is not only a member but an activist.
“Dr Bossman Asare was my two years senior in Legon, I was in the psychology department, he was in the political science department, and he was an NPP activist. When I came to the department to do my PhD, he was the head of the department and he was the TESCON patron,” he emphasised.
He added that he had already noted that the ruling party has begun suggesting that since APC of Nigeria has been able to break the eight; they are confident that it will be the same for Ghana.
“I have heard some of them say, in Nigeria, they have broken the eight…Ghana is not Nigeria and this country is not owned by anybody,” he said.
The Tamale Central MP said Ghana’s democracy has an outstanding track record.
“Even Nigerians themselves will tell you the systems they have in place are not the best. In this country our democracy is tried and tested…you now have MPs say that Nigerians have broken the eight, we will also break the eight. They are not interested in breaking the economy, they are interested in breaking the eight. They care less about the suffering of the people of this country,” he said.
Investigations into Manchester City’s suspected financial irregularities have “taken too long”, according to LaLiga chief Javier Tebas.
Following a four-year inquiry, the Premier League champions have been accused by the league of breaking over 100 rules in relation to their financial affairs.
City has refuted all allegations of wrongdoing and has vowed to fight the charges, which might result in sanctions like a points deduction and possible relegation.
Tebas, who has repeatedly criticized the Premier League’s wealth, claimed the probe had taken too long after the matter was originally brought up in 2017.
“Now it is 2023, and nothing has moved on, but suddenly there is an enquiry,” he told the Financial Times Business of Football Summit.
“It has taken too long. We know there was an alleged breach of 100 articles. So any decisions will have to be adopted accordingly by the Premier League.”
Hoy @LaLiga y los 42 clubes participaron en una sesión de trabajo con la Comisaria Europea de Innovación, Cultura, Deporte… @gabrielmariya 👉 El objetivo, compartir proyectos de digitalización dentro del proceso de innovación que lleva a cabo @laliga y sus clubes. pic.twitter.com/3HSHqFqqWs
Tebas drew comparisons to LaLiga title frontrunners Barcelona, who have frequently been in conflict with the governing body over their own financial conduct.
The Blaugrana have amassed eye-watering debts, and were forced to activate additional financial levers in order to fund their transfer market activity last year.
“One of the worst things about financial controls is if you don’t follow or comply with it,” Tebas added.
“Barcelona are so important for LaLiga in Spain, but if I looked away and didn’t pay attention to what is happening with their finances, it would be a gross error.
“Our whole system would collapse. It is impossible for them to do transfer business in the summer because of the numbers. This needs to be resolved, and we need to act.”
The UN 2023 Water Conference – formally known as the 2023 Conference for the Midterm Comprehensive Review of Implementation of the UN Decade for Action on Water and Sanitation (2018-2028) will take place at UN Headquarters in New York, 22-24 March 2023, co-hosted by Tajikistan and the Netherlands.
The conference will include an opening and closing session, six plenary sessions, and five interactive dialogues, as well as side events organized by participants. It will result in a summary of proceedings from the UNGA President that will feed into the 2023 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF).
In support of the preparations for the UN 2023 Water Conference, UN DESA with the support of UN-Water, has developed a Technical Advice on the possible themes for the interactive dialogues of the Conference.
Non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions, the scientific community, the private sector, philanthropic organizations and other stakeholders are now invited to contribute proposals for the themes of the interactive dialogues through a global online consultation.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has said the failure of the Akufo-Addo-led government does not offer him any kind of pleasure.
At the launch of his presidential campaign at Ho in the Volta Region on Thursday, he noted that “I’m not the kind of leader who derives pleasure from or can smile at my country’s failing, even the failing of my political opponent.”
According to the former statesman, there are many who have said his statement that posterity will be the judge of time has been realised as the country has been plundered to a state of crisis.
He noted that even in “the face of the abysmal performance of the NPP government, and their harrowing dismantling of our country’s prospect,” he will be a wise man who learns from the mistakes of others.
“As far as I am concerned, there is no vindication from the suffering of the Ghanaian people,” he added.
For the first time in six years, UN Secretary-General António Guterres is visiting Iraq to show his support for the populace, the new administration, and its ambitious reform plan.
After touching down in Baghdad late on Tuesday, he told journalists “I am here in a visit of solidarity to underscore the commitment of the United Nations to support Iraq in the consolidation of its democratic institutions and advancing peace, sustainable development and human rights for all Iraqis.”
After “decades of oppression, war, terrorism, sectarianism and foreign interference” in Iraq’s affairs – just days ahead of the 20th anniversary of the 2003 invasion – Mr. Guterres acknowledged that the challenges the country faces could not be brushed aside.
And amid reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani continues to face potential political obstacles in reviving national fortunes, the UN chief, in a joint press encounter with Mr. Al-Sudani, expressed his hope that Iraq “can break cycles of instability and fragility”.
He added: “I applaud the Prime Minister for his commitment to address the most pressing challenges facing the country head on – including combatting corruption, improving public services, and diversifying the economy to reduce unemployment and create opportunities, especially for young people.
“Such structural change requires systemic reform, stronger institutions, greater accountability and better governance at all levels – and the United Nations stands ready to support these important efforts.”
Referencing reported divisions over the sharing of Iraqi oil revenues between central government in the capital and provincial government in the north, Mr. Guterres encouraged all parties to build on “recent positive steps” between Baghdad and Erbil. “Sustainable agreements” and dialogue should be the long-term objective the UN Secretary-General said.
UNAMI/Sarmad Al-Safy UN Secretary-General António Guterres meets Iraq’s Minister of Foreign Affairs on his arrival in Baghdad, Iraq.
Dignity of Iraq’s displaced
In earlier comments just after touching down, Mr. Guterres also spoke of his “enormous admiration” for the Iraqi people, highlighting how he had witnessed the courage of those displaced inside the country several times, on previous visits.
The UN Secretary-General also highlighted how Iraqi refugees in Jordan and in Syria had shown that they were able “to live in solidarity with each other, to help each other in the spirit that, in my opinion, is the best hope for the future of the country”.
Iraq’s efforts to repatriate its citizens from northeast Syria – including from the infamous Al Hol camp – had been “exemplary”, Mr. Guterres said, before noting Prime Minister Al-Sudani’s commitment to allowing the safe and dignified return of ethnic Yazidis to their homes in northern Iraq, after suffering genocide at the hands of Daesh in 2014.
Water emergency
Addressing another key challenge for Iraq, namely water scarcity, Mr. Guterres noted that the issue required international attention, before flagging the UN 2023 Water Conference from 22-24 March in New York.
The mighty Tigris and the Euphrates rivers were now running dry and the impact on agriculture has been dramatic, the UN chief said, adding that “it breaks my heart” to see farmers who have been forced to abandon lands where crops have been grown for thousands of years.
Iraq is one of the countries worst hit by climate change, which has driven displacement, threatened food security, destroyed livelihoods, fuelled conflict and undermined human rights, Mr. Guterres maintained.
When coupled with a volatile security situation and governance challenges, “it can put stability at risk… so now is the time for the international community to support Iraq in tackling its environmental challenges, diversifying its economy, and harnessing its potential for sustainable growth,” the Secretary-General insisted.
UNAMI
Secretary-General António Guterres meets with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) at UNAMI Headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq.
Then and now
Later in the day, the UN chief held a press conference where he contrasted his visit six years ago amidst the existential threat posed by the war against terrorist group Da’esh, or ISIL, with Iraq now.
His visit then was “one of solidarity in a moment of urgency. Today it is a visit of solidarity and hope for the future of Iraq. With a new Government in place, there is a window of opportunity for progress”, he said.
The Secretary-General on Wednesday also heard from representatives from women’s groups and youth, who voiced their views on the need for further opening up of civic spaces and expressed concern over unemployment and climate change.
He noted with interest, the increasing awareness of climate change issues both from the Government side and among civil society. He encouraged activists and civil society groups to mobilize and lobby authorities for further action on adaptation and climate resilience.
UN teams
The Secretary-General also held a townhall meeting with UN personnel based in Iraq, including the assistance mission UNAMI, the Country Team and the UN Investigative Team bring Da’esh terrorists to account (UNITAD).
He also visited the National Museum of Iraq, where he voiced appreciation for the immense contribution made by Iraq to world history.
“The contribution of Iraq to world civilization, to world culture, is absolutely outstanding”, he said reflecting on the fact that the Abbasid Caliphate flourished, while Europe was still a “barbarian area”.
“So, I’m here to pay tribute to all those that are working in this museum, preserving it in the difficult times that Iraq has faced some years ago, which allow us to be able to contemplate the magnificent culture and history of this wonderful country.”
Heading north
On Thursday, the Secretary-General is due to visit a camp for displaced people in the northern part of Iraq.
He plans to meet residents and have a first-hand look at the work that UN agencies are doing there, serving those forced to leave their homes. In the afternoon he will head to Erbil and meet various officials from the Kurdistan Regional Government.
Spokesperson for the John Mahama campaign, Joyce Bawah Mogtari, has asserted that Ghana’s economic challenges can only be remedied by former President John Dramani Mahama.
According to her, this is so because Mr Mahama is a former statesman who has immeasurable experience needed to change the misfortune of the economy.
She made the comment on Thursday during the campaign launch of the former president, which was held at Ho in the Volta Region.
“We do need experience. We need a proactive and seasoned individual. A visionary and action oriented gentleman.
One who can turn things around very quickly. We need some who can relate and associate with the everyday Ghanaian,” she said.
“It will be one of the most difficult periods in our country’s history with citizens facing unimaginable challenges.”
“Over the last 6 years, Ghanaians have witnessed unprecedented economic hardship owing to the collapse of companies, banks and other many businesses,” she explained.
Mr John Dramani Mahama is yet to contest with the likes of Dr Duffuor and two others for the flagbearership position of the NDC ahead of the 2024 elections.
Jose Mourinho will miss two games due to his incident on the touchline after Tuesday’s 2-1 loss for Roma against Cremonese.
After a contentious altercation with the fourth official barely two minutes into the second half, the Roma head coach was dismissed for the third time this year.
Mourinho sat in the stands as Daniel Ciofani’s late penalty gave Cremonese their first league victory of the season and their first in Serie A in 26 years after Leonardo Spinazzola’s goal had nullified Frank Tsadjout’s opening goal for the hosts.
Mourinho will now be subject to a two-match suspension and a $10,000 fine as a result of his decision to continue arguing his point with the referees in their locker room following the conclusion of the game.
A statement from Serie A said that the Giallorossi boss will be banned for “having contested a refereeing decision in a forceful and provocative manner in the second minute of the second half and repeating this behaviour at the time of sending off.
“Furthermore, for entering the referees’ dressing room and addressing the fourth official with offensive expressions and inferences at the end of the match.”
After the game, Mourinho defended his actions that saw him sent off for an altercation with the fourth official.
“I’m emotional but not crazy. For the first time in my career a referee has spoken to me in an unjustifiable way,” he said.
“To have the reaction I had is because something happened. I need to know now if I can do something from a disciplinary point of view.”
The ban will see Mourinho miss Sunday’s clash with Juventus and Roma’s home game against Sassuolo on 12 March.
Roma sit fifth in Serie A after Wednesday’s defeat, one point behind rivals Lazio in fourth.
On Wednesday, Novak Djokovic defeated Tallon Griekspoor by 6-2, 6-3, and easily advanced to the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Midway through his record 378th week as the number one in the world, the Serbian picked up his 19th straight triumph by resolving his last-sixteen match in straight sets.
Griekspoor, who was ranked 39th in the ATP rankings at the time, was no match for the 22-time Grand Slam champion, who destroyed him in an hour and 22 minutes.
A late dropped service game at 5-1 up in the second set was the only significant blemish on Djokovic’s otherwise near-perfect performance.
“It’s been a great evening for me,” Djokovic said in his post-match interview.
“Yesterday [against Tomas Machac], I really had to work hard to get a win. Tonight, right from the blocks, I think I was sharp. I definitely played better than I did last night.
“Maybe the last three or four games weren’t the best to close the match, but I managed to find a good serve in the end.
“I’m very pleased with the performance and with the way I felt on the court, and hopefully things can go in the right direction for tomorrow.”
Djokovic, who remains undefeated in 2023, is bidding to win the Dubai title for a sixth time, in what represents his first tournament since he won the Australian Open in January.
Elsewhere, second and third seeds Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev joined Djokovic in easing their way into the last eight.
The former was made to work by Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina however, recovering for a 1-6 7-6 7-6 win, while the latter saw off Alexander Bublik 6-4 6-2.
Fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime crashed out with a surprise 7-6 6-4 loss to Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego, who is rewarded with a last-eight clash against seventh seed Alexander Zverev.
At the Mexican Open in Acapulco on Wednesday, second seed Casper Ruud was shocked by Japan’s Taro Daniel, losing in three sets.
The 2022 US Open and French Open runner-up battled through Guido Andreozzi in the opening round before falling to Daniel 7-5 2-6 7-6 (7-5) in the second round.
The 125th-ranked Japanese qualifier triumphed in just under three hours by taking the final three points of the tie-break after Ruud had led 5-4.
Although Daniel had 12 unforced errors compared to Ruud’s 30, the Dutchman had more wins (38-32).
Taylor Fritz cruised into the last eight with a 6-4 6-4 win over Canada’s Denis Shapovalov, setting up a quarter-final with sixth seed Francis Tiafoe, who eased past Feliciano Lopez 6-2 7-6 (8-6).
Fourth seed Holger Rune was too strong for Nuno Borges 6-0 6-2 inside an hour, while eighth seed Alex De Minaur crushed Jacopo Berrettini in just over an hour 6-1 6-0.
Top seed Lorenzo Musetti was a surprise second-round loser at the Chile Open with Jaume Munar triumphing 6-4 6-4 in one hour and 31 minutes.
Fourth seed Diego Schwartzman also bowed out, going down 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-2) to local Nicolas Jarry.
Jarry will face Yannick Hanfmann in the quarter-finals, while Munar will take on Thiago Monteiro.
Ivan Toney has criticized “disturbing” rumors about the FA’s planned suspension for his alleged betting rule violations.
The English Football Association’s regulatory body has accused the Brentford striker of 262 alleged offences that occurred over a four-year span.
There hasn’t been an official FA update on the situation, but according to initial reports published by The Daily Mail on Tuesday, Toney has admitted guilt to the majority of the allegations and might receive a six-month suspension.
Although Toney was perplexed by rumors of leaks within the FA, the reports stated the 26-year-old has also rejected some of the breaches.
He posted on Instagram on Wednesday: “I was shocked and disappointed to see press speculation yesterday and today about the FA investigation process concerning me after I have been told by the FA that it is a confidential process until any decision has been made.
“It is especially disturbing for me to read that the FA is saying I shall be banned from football for six months before there has even been a hearing and it does make me worried about the process.”
Toney earned a first England call-up in September but was left out of Gareth Southgate’s squad for the World Cup.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham stated that the forward’s omission from the squad in Qatar was decided on “footballing grounds”.
Toney plans to challenge the FA after a second instance of reported leaks.
He added: “My lawyers will be writing to the FA to request that they conduct a leak inquiry, as this is the second time stories have appeared in the newspapers – the last time was just before the selection for the England World Cup squad.
“As I continue to be told the investigation is meant to be confidential, I am unable to provide any further comment and shall continue to concentrate on my football.”
Erik ten Hag continues to be impressed by Harry Maguire and Wout Weghorst.
The Manchester United boss gave the pair high marks for their efforts against West Ham.
A few days after winning the Carabao Cup against Newcastle, the pair got the FA Cup fifth round victory at Old Trafford underway on Wednesday.
Club captain Maguire has been behind Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez under Ten Hag, and he only played for a little period of time at Wembley.
Yet the Dutch coach at Old Trafford was pleased to see the center back adjust to a right-sided role rather than his typical left, as evidenced by his commanding performance.
“My way of playing, it is better,” he said. “I prefer to have players with a lot of intensity [and] he had a good performance. He took the initiative in and out of possession.
“He was demanding the ball [and] he had some really good moments.I showed him a video [of his performances and of other players] on how to outplay opponents.
“[He must discover] how to have more of an impact. His skills are really high. For a centre-back, he has so many skills, and he has to use that.”
Weghorst, who did start at Wembley and provided an assist for Marcus Rashford on Sunday, has come under fire for his own lack of goals since his arrival on loan from Burnley.
But the striker’s work off the ball continues to please Ten Hag, having had a hand in all three of United’s goals on Wednesday, including Nayef Aguerd’s own goal and Alejandro Garnacho and Fred’s late efforts.
“He was one of the best players on the pitch,” he added. “He was involved and forced the own goal from the opponent. [With] Garnacho’s goal, he was pressing. With the third goal, he [made] a good press and Fred scores.
“He is doing a very good job for the team. At the start of the season, Marcus Rashford didn’t score every game, but I know that [the goals] will come for him. When he has the first goal, more will come.”
As Arsenal went five points ahead of Manchester City in the Premier League standings, Mikel Arteta has urged his team to continue their unwavering pursuit of the championship, saying, “We’re not going to stop.”
In their matchup against Manchester City on Wednesday, Arsenal defeated struggling Everton 4-0 thanks to goals from Gabriel Martinelli twice, Bukayo Saka, and Martin Odegaard.
Arsenal struggled to get going against Sean Dyche’s team, but they eventually turned it on to defeat Everton and win their 100th league game.
With a 3-1 victory at the Emirates Stadium last month, second-placed City briefly overtook the Gunners at the top. Nevertheless, the Gunners’ dominating victory puts distance between them and City.
Asked whether Arsenal’s thrashing of Everton made them title favourites, Arteta said: “You know my answer there!
“What I like is that everybody has the enthusiasm to do it, and we’re not going to stop that – we have to promote that.
“But the way to promote that is by looking at this game and understanding that we have to do a lot of things better, especially in the first half.
“We can play better and make sure we prepare really well against Bournemouth, because that’s going to be a tough game.”
Asked how Arsenal could find the mental strength required to beat City to the title, Arteta said: “It is something that we have to train and discuss and build.
“It is not easy, but a lot of time it happens through experiences and most of the time they are experiences that you don’t want to go through, but the calendar and fixtures are going to give that.
“Sometimes you are where we are now, sometimes it is three points [difference], two points, minus two – it is going to happen and we have to live with that.”
Arsenal take on relegation-threatened Bournemouth in their next game on Saturday, before switching their attentions to a Europa League last-16 tie against Sporting CP.
Graham Potter is having a terrible time with Chelsea, and he might soon be leaving Stamford Bridge.
The Blues were defeated once more over the weekend, this time by Tottenham, a rival team from London.
Despite their recent high-profile signing effort, Potter’s team has one of the lowest scoring averages in the Premier League.
If Todd Boehly and company lose at Leeds on Saturday, they may have no choice but to fire their English manager.
We examine five potential successors for the 47-year-old in West London.
Jose Mourinho
Jose Mourinho is the name at the top of many Chelsea fans’ wish lists with the Roma boss said to be keen on a third stint at the five-time Premier League winners.
The Portuguese head coach delivered the league title to Stamford Bridge twice during his first stay and then again in 2014-2015.
Reports have suggested that the legendary manager wants to return to England one more time to win further silverware after failing to do so during his time in charge of Spurs.
With his family said to still be living in London, it is certainly not impossible that Chelsea’s most successful coach could return to the club that sacked him on two occasions.
Jose Mourinho won three Premier League titles in two spells at Chelsea
Mauricio Pochettino
It is no secret that Mauricio Pochettino spends a lot of time in England having been relieved of his duties by Paris Saint-Germain last July.
Former Southampton and Spurs boss Poch was well known for his high-intensity, attacking football — especially during his reign in North London.
The 50-year-old looks to be biding his time when it comes to securing his next job but there is some excitement around what Pochettino could do with Chelsea’s young and hugely-talented squad.
However, it remains to be seen whether the Argentine is waiting for Antonio Conte to depart his beloved Spurs so that he can return to management in a familiar environment.
Luis Enrique’s time at the helm of the Spanish national side came to an abrupt end when they were dumped out of the World Cup by Morocco.
The 2010 winners were contenders to lift the trophy in Qatar but crashed out on penalties in the last 16, leaving the former Barcelona boss searching for a new adventure.
The 52-year-old has not taken a job in club management since he left the Camp Nou in 2017 but an opportunity at Chelsea could turn his head towards a challenge in the Premier League.
Luis Enrique is a tactical expert who would be capable of developing the Blues into a well-oiled machine able to challenge for honours if the Spaniard is given the time and resources.
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane achieved great success at Real Madrid
It seems an age since Zinedine Zidane guided Real Madrid to three consecutive Champions League titles but he is another who may be tempted by a vacancy at Chelsea.
The Frenchman has been linked with almost every top job in Europe since his departure from Los Blancos in 2021 — and for good reason.
His excellent man-management skills would be a welcome sight for fans of the West London club as the squad appears unsettled by so many new faces this term.
Zidane was said to be patiently waiting for the French national team job but Didier Deschamps’ decision to stay on as Les Bleus boss may prompt the former midfielder to seek an alternative route back into the dugout.
Diego Simeone
Diego Simeone is another option for Chelsea
Diego Simeone may be tempted by a new project having spent 11 years in charge of Atletico Madrid and is a proven winner at the top level.
He has boasted some impressive achievements in the Spanish capital, coaching Atleti to the title ahead of LaLiga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona in 2014 and 2021 alongside two visits to the Champions League final.
Well known for his defensive tactics, Simeone is an expert at game management and relies on counter-attacks to breach the opposition.
And with an arsenal of tools available in West London, the 52-year-old Argentine would be able to stamp his authority on this young squad.
According to reports, Vladimir Putin lives with his gymnast girlfriend on a sizable, closely secured country estate with a number of opulent residences and a playground for their young children.
Per the Russian investigative news website, The Project, Alina Kabaeva, a 39-year-old Olympic rhythmic gymnastics champion who has long been associated with the 70-year-old Russian president, resides in a villa on Putin’s estate on Lake Valdai, about 250 miles north-west of Moscow.
According to the website, the Russian president allegedly used a slush fund in Cyprus to purchase his lover a property empire worth $120 million (£100 million).
According to The Project, Ms. Kabaeva’s mansion’s construction started in 2020 and was finished in 2021.
At nearly 13,000 square feet, the mansion was built entirely of wood in the style of a Russian dacha. Construction was carried out by a company owned by Yuri Kovalchuk, the Russian businessman also known as “Putin’s banker”.
Ms Kabaeva’s ruby-studded chandelier
Unnamed officials told The Project they had seen children on the premises, and satellite images taken between 2016 and 2020 showed a playground in the woods believed to have been built for the family.
The area has been frequented by Ms Kabaeva’s distant female relatives, described as her chaperones in leaked train manifests. The chaperones also reportedly own properties in the area.
The house where Ms Kabaeva is said to live is located just 800 metres (2,640ft) from Valdai, Putin’s best-guarded and most private residence, where he almost never holds public meetings.
Photographs of that mansion, leaked by a construction executive who worked around the house until 2005, showed opulent interiors reportedly inspired by Putin’s love for his hometown of St Petersburg and its eighteenth-century Hermitage Museum.
One image purportedly shows the president’s study bedecked with ornate mahogany furniture and featuring the secure landline phones used by top Kremlin officials.
In another room, gilded chairs can be seen arranged around a glass table and a spherical chandelier, with golden leaves hanging from the ceiling.
Room with gold chairsPutin’s bedroom
Guests to the house were encouraged to reach out and take one, the contractor claimed. Another photo appears to show a massive chandelier decorated with rubies.
The existence of the villa was first reported in 2021 by the team of Alexei Navalny, the jailed Russian opposition leader, who claimed that budget funds were used to lease the property from Mr Kovalchuk, the businessman.
Both the Russian president and Ms Kabaeva have repeatedly denied that they are in a relationship.
Unnamed officials who attended Putin’s private parties said they had never seen the two together but they have no doubt that they have a relationship, saying that only top-ranking officers in the president’s security detail were aware of the details of their arrangement.
In another sign of her proximity to Putin, Ms Kabaeva was, in 2014, appointed to lead Russia’s National Media Group, a sprawling media holding owned by Mr Kovalchuk, despite having no relevant experience. The position provides her with an annual income of about £8.6 million.
A swimming pool
The investigation drew on documents provided by an unnamed whistleblower described as an executive in the “business empire of one of the president’s closest friends” who was directly involved in managing a Cyprus-based company used as a slush fund for the president.
The whistleblower contacted the journalists as he was outraged by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and said the Russian regime “must be stopped”.
Documents reviewed by The Project revealed how Putin’s close friends and their companies were pumping money into Ermira, the Cypriot company, which was later used to buy luxury estate and provide for the needs of Putin and his family.
The Russian leader was also accused of racking up profits from the sale of a popular vodka brand named after him that appeared on the market in the early 2000s. Property rights to the vodka were repeatedly transferred between his childhood friend Arkady Rotenberg and the Cyprus-based company.
The vodka sales alone would have earned Putin at least half a million dollars between 2004 and 2019, according to The Project’s estimates.
Known for her secretive lifestyle, Ms Kabaeva was revealed as the owner of a number of other luxury properties across Russia, including a penthouse in Sochi on the Black Sea which is believed to be the biggest apartment in Russia.
While the apartment was briefly on sale, 3D visualisations available online showed its over-the-top luxurious interiors such as a dining room with marble floors and walls and gilded bannister rails on the stairs between the floors.
The gymnast’s properties were registered in the name of her relatives, including her elderly grandmother.
According to a significant new study, women who are young mothers, have many children, and start their periods early all have a higher chance of acquiring cardiovascular disease.
A team from Imperial College London conducted the study, which was then published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. They examined data from more than 100,000 women worldwide.
“This study shows a clear link between reproductive factors and cardiovascular disease,” explained lead author Dr Maddalena Ardissino.
“These findings highlight the need for doctors to monitor these risk factors closely in women and intervene where needed.”
According to the British Heart Foundation, women in the UK are twice as likely to die from coronary disease – the leading cause of heart attacks – than breast cancer. Yet, the foundation adds that coronary disease is often seen as a “man’s problem”.
“Many of the previous studies on cardiovascular disease have focused on men,” said senior author of the new study, Dr Fu Siong Ng.
“But our research shows there are sex-specific factors that influence the risk for women. We cannot say exactly how much these factors increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
“Our study shows reproductive history is important. It points towards a causal impact. We need to understand more about these factors to make sure women get the best possible care.”
Girls who get their periods earlier are also more at risk of developing heart disease. (Getty Images)
To collate their findings, the researchers used a statistical technique called Mendelian Randomisation that identifies genetic variants linked to potential risk factors.
The researchers found that much of the increased risk from early first periods resulted from being overweight. They said that lowering a girl’s BMI (body mass index) could be a protective measure.
They added that the increased risk for young mothers came from traditional cardiometabolic risk factors such as BMI, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
“Women are often mischaracterised as being at low risk for cardiovascular disease, leading to delays in diagnosis,” Dr Ardissino adds. “Even when they are diagnosed, they tend to receive less targeted treatment than men.
“This doesn’t mean women should worry if they’ve had their period at a young age – or if they had an early first birth. Our research shows the additional risk of cardiovascular disease can be minimised if traditional risk factors like BMI and blood pressure are well-controlled.”
According to the NHS, the main causes of coronary heart disease include smoking, having high blood pressure (hypertension), high cholesterol, high levels of lipoprotein, not exercising regularly, and having diabetes.
Dame Judi Dench has admitted that her failing eyesight makes it “impossible” for her to read scripts and memorize lines.
The 88-year-old previously disclosed that she has age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which she acknowledged is “intensely irritating”.
Discussing her condition on The Graham Norton Show, she explained that she can no longer see to read scripts, saying: “It has become impossible and because I have a photographic memory, I need to find a machine that not only teaches me my lines but also tells me where they appear on the page.”
“I used to find it very easy to learn lines and remember them,” added the star, who appeared on the show talking about her new film Allelujah.
“I could do the whole of Twelfth Night right now.”
The Skyfall actor previously revealed to BBC journalist Louis Theroux that she has no plans to retire despite her sight struggles.
“I don’t want to retire. I’m not doing much at the moment because I can’t see,” Dame Dench told Theroux in the documentary Louis Theroux Interviews.
She also revealed was trying to “teach” herself to pick up a new way of learning her lines following her visual problems.
“I have a photographic memory so a person saying to me, ‘This is your line…’ I can do that,” the actor explained.
Dame Judi Dench has opened up about giving up driving thanks to her failing eyesight. (Getty Images)
Dench also shared how she sometimes relies on her friend, David Mills, for everyday tasks, recalling a recent occasion where he cut up her food in a restaurant, as she couldn’t see the meal on her plate as it was so dark.
She explained: “He cut it up and handed something to me on a fork and that’s the way I ate it.”
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is defined by the NHS as a condition that affects the middle part of vision.
It typically starts impacting people in their 50s and 60s. “It does not cause total blindness,” the NHS says. “But it can make everyday activities like reading and recognising faces difficult.”
The actor, who plays M in the James Bond franchise, previously opened up about her faltering eyesight, revealing that she has given up driving as a result of her failing vision.
The Oscar winning star has been diagnosed with the degenerative eye condition, which according to Macular Society is the biggest cause of sight loss in the UK.
Dench has spoken regularly about her eyesight impacting her ability to read scripts, but it wasn’t until 2017 that she was forced to give up driving.
“A couple of years ago I stopped driving, which was one of the most traumatic moments of my life. It was absolutely appalling,” she told Radio Times.
“But I just know I’ll kill somebody if I get behind the wheel of a car now.”
The 88-year-old went on to explain that she can no longer read the newspaper, books or do the crossword. “But, you know, you cope,” she explains.
Though she is unsure if or when she may lose her vision entirely, the actor doesn’t want medical professionals to predict the outcome of her condition.
“I don’t want to say. I can see enough… You adapt to it. So I ignore it altogether,” she explained.
Age-related macular degeneration is the biggest cause of sight loss in the UK. (Getty Images)
What is macular degeneration?
According to the Macular Society, macular disease is the biggest cause of sight loss in the UK affecting 1.5m people.
Though it can affect people of any age – even children, the most common type of macular disease is age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which typically affects people over the age of 55.
Recent statistics reveal there are 600,000 people in the UK with AMD and this number is expected to double in the next 20 years as the population ages.
One in three people know someone with macular disease – it is more prevalent as dementia and represents a huge cost, care and societal burden, yet does not receive a level of research funding proportionate to its impact
And Dame Judi Dench, isn’t the only high profile star impacted by macular disease, ‘Eastenders’ actress June Brown is also a sufferer.
What are the different types of macular disease?
As well as lots of types of macular disease there are also two types of AMD – Dry and Wet AMD.
“Dry AMD is the most common but less serious form of the disease affecting about 85% of patients,” explains Mr Sheraz Daya ophthalmologist and medical director of Centre for Sight.
“The condition occurs when the cones and rods photoreceptors in the central retina become damaged and the central vision progressively deteriorates very slowly over a number of years.”
Wet type AMD is the most serious type affecting approximately 15% of patients.
“The condition is so called because abnormal new vessels grow below the retina and result in leakage of fluid and blood in the macula with rapid loss of central vision within days,” Mr Daya continues.
“This condition can now be successfully slowed down by early intervention in order to prevent permanent loss of central vision.”
Macular disease is the most common cause of eyesight loss [Photo: Getty]
What are the symptoms of macular disease?
According to Macular Society both dry and wet AMD affects people in different ways but people may see gaps or dark spots (like a smudge on glasses) in their vision, especially first thing in the morning.
Objects in front of them might change shape, size or colour or seem to move or disappear and words might disappear when you are reading.
Straight lines such as door frames and lampposts may also appear distorted or bent.
“Early symptoms of AMD may include difficulty in reading, difficulty in recognising people’s faces and distortions in the central vision,” Mr Daya explains.
“The sight loss usually occurs gradually over time, although it can develop very rapidly due to sudden bleeding in the central area of the retina, the macula, with loss of central vision within a few days.”
What are the causes of macular disease?
The Macular Society says our age and our genes are the biggest factors in developing macular disease. But there are lifestyle risks too; smoking, poor diet, high blood pressure and obesity can all increase risk.
“Though the exact cause of AMD is still unknown, there are several risk factors associated with the condition that include smoking, high blood pressure, being overweight and having family members with the disease,” Specsavers clinical spokesperson, Dr Nigel Best adds.
Can macular disease be cured?
Vision Express’ director of professional services, Dan McGee said: “Although a cure for most macular disease is yet to be found, some macular conditions can be treated if detected early enough.
Mr Daya says the treatment of wet AMD has been transformed over the past few years by the drugs which block the vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF).
“These treatments are given as injections directly into the eye (intravitreal injections) under local anaesthetic at around 4 to 8 weekly intervals and are effective at slowing down AMD progression, preserving eyesight and limiting permanent damage on the macula,” he explains.
But having regular eye tests is also vitally important.
“This helps to prolong healthy eyes, and for those already diagnosed with the disease, advice from an expert optometrist can make a real difference to quality of life,” McGee adds.
Commenting on the need for further research Cathy Yelf, chief executive of the Macular Society says: “Macular disease is cruel and isolating. Day to day we hear from people about the devastating impact it has on their lives – taking away their dreams and plans for the future.
“And yet, despite its devastating impact, too little is known about its causes and for the majority of people affected there is not even a treatment, let alone a cure.
“We must do everything we can to raise awareness of this condition and weeks like Macular Week (June 24-30) enable us to do this effectively.
“Today, more and more people are being diagnosed with macular disease. It is already a major public health crisis with far more people living with macular disease than dementia. We must stop it in its tracks.”
When Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, was published in January, it quickly became the fastest-selling nonfiction book in UK history, selling more than 3.2 million copies in only one week.
But is it really any surprise given that the novel was jam-packed with some incredibly sensual confessions and yet more shocking revelations about the royal family (such as Prince Harry describing the day he lost his virginity in a field outside a bar)? And if rumors that the Duke of Sussex is adding another chapter are to be believed, we might be in for much more.
“Prince Harry is already planning to add at least one new chapter… to the paperback version… out later this year or early next, when the hardcover sales have ended,” a source told Page Six, adding that: “Readers are eager to know [Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle’s] feelings about the royal backlash they have suffered after the airing of their Netflix doc, and the publication of Spare.”
The hardback edition of Spare was released by Penguin Random House on 10 January, with Prince Harry narrating the audio version. As of yet, details of a paperback release have not been announced, but a representative for Harry reportedly told Page Six that claims he’s planning to add a new chapter are “not true”.
Matt Cardy – Getty Images
Previously, Prince Harry admitted that the first draft of his memoir was a whopping 800 pages, with only 416 making the final cut. “It could have been two books, put it that way,” Harry told The Telegraph. The Duke has maintained that he has no intention of publishing the cut materials, because he doesn’t think his family “would never forgive” him if he did.
“There are some things that have happened, especially between me and my brother, and to some extent between me and my father, that I just don’t want the world to know,” he said.
According to reports, Arsenal plans to make significant changes during the summer transfer window, targeting four additions and SIX exits.
In what has been an incredible season thus far, the Arsenal currently maintain a two-point advantage over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League standings.
Declan Rice is being heavily linked with a move to ArsenalCredit: GettyMoises Caicedo nearly secured a switch to the Emirates in January Credit: Getty
And while the title is now their focus, it must not be forgotten that Champions League qualification is all but secured.
The Times claims that the earnings from a top-four finish might finance a spending binge.
At the end of the current campaign, Mikel Arteta hopes to sign two central midfielders, a winger, and a left back.
Two players—Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo—have been specifically mentioned in the report as targets.
With Rice, 24, an £80 million captain from West Ham, Arsenal is sure that it can defeat Chelsea.
Also, they plan to rekindle their interest in Caicedo, a Brighton resident.
It remains to be seen who else they will go after, but names they are linked with include Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Real Valladolid defender Ivan Fresneda and Inter Milan wingback Denzel Dumfries.
There is also set to be a mass exodus at the Emirates come the end of the campaign.
According to recent research that was published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, persons who are short and dissatisfied about it could act antagonistically in an effort to make up for their short stature disadvantage.
To gather 367 adults from the US, a mix of men and women, for a study the researchers used Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, a crowdsourcing platform.
The Dirty Dozen Dark Triad questionnaire, which measures degrees of psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism—a personality trait characterized as being manipulative, cynical, and lacking in morality—was given to the participants.
After that, participants were asked to state their height and indicate whether they were happy with it or desired they were taller.
Short people who are unsatisfied with their height were found to be more likely to present psychopathy, narcissism and Machiavellianism traits.The study found that short people were more likely to exhibit narcissistic traits.
The researchers found that shorter people and those who were unsatisfied with their height were more likely to exhibit signs of psychopathy, narcissism and Machiavellianism.
“Shorter people, especially those who wish they were taller, are more characterized by traits that are likely to make them show-off, be confrontational and interested in power,” lead author Peter K. Jonason, of the University of Padua in Italy, said according to PsyPost.
“These relationships may be best understood from an evolutionary framework, suggesting that when people cannot be physically formidable, they may then be psychologically formidable instead.”
This reaction can also provide advantages in survival and mating, the researchers suggest.
Comparing the two sexes, short males tended to display narcissistic tendencies slightly more frequently than short women. Yet, a person’s likelihood of displaying psychopathy and Machiavellianism was unaffected by their gender.
“We expected these relationships to be stronger in men given evolutionary and Freudian considerations but we found only scant evidence for differentiation of these correlations by sex,” Jonason said.
But not everyone who is short hates their height. Some short men have turned their shortcomings into movement, as seen last spring when it was declared “Short King Spring.”
“Dave’s a one-in-a-million in terms of being super confident,” internet personality Carolina Vazzana told The Post of her man, David Lopez. “He isn’t ashamed or embarrassed to stand next to me in 6-inch heels.”
As the Denver Nuggets defeated the Houston Rockets 133-112 on Tuesday, Nikola Jokic became the sixth player in NBA history to reach 100 career triple-doubles.
His 24th triple-double of the season, the Serbian center ended with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.
The Nuggets have won each game in which Jokic has recorded a triple-double this season, making it his 15th triple-double in his last 20 games.
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said: “We haven’t lost a game in those triple-doubles which speaks to his greatness.”
Jokic joined Russell Westbrook (198), Oscar Robertson (181), Magic Johnson (138), Jason Kidd (107) and LeBron James (106) in reaching triple figures for triple-doubles in the NBA.
Congrats to Nikola Jokic of the @nuggets for becoming the 6th player in NBA history to reach 100 career triple-doubles! pic.twitter.com/ZVx7B4sOWE
If Jokic, who is 28 years old, continues on the path he has taken in the past two consecutive MVP seasons, he could foreseeably move up that list.
“For him to be mentioned with all these historical accomplishments, reminds you that we are so blessed to have a guy like Nikola,” Malone added.
“I challenge all of us in Denver to never take him for granted. To never take his greatness for granted.”
Malone subtly added that Jokic should win a third straight MVP, while discussing his strengths.
“We all know he’s a two-time MVP, about to be a three-time MVP, you talk about the skill level, the IQ, the rebounding, playmaking, scoring all that but the intangibles are the areas Nikola has grown the most,” Malone said.
On Jokic’s defense, Malone added: “He’s a high IQ player. He has tremendous anticipation and outstanding hand-eye coordination.
“People think if you’re not a great athlete, you can’t be a good defender but I think that’s malarkey. I think Nikola is a living example of a guy who can be an effective defender and not necessarily be an elite athlete.”
Former President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, between February 26 and 28, engaged some four key presidential candidates in Nigeria’s 2023 election.
Together with other leaders in the West African sub-region including Former Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, and other members of the West African Elders Forum (WAEF) Election Mission, Mr Mahama visited Bola Tinubu of All Progressives Congress (APC), Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
WAEF paid a courtesy visit to Mr Tinubu on Tuesday evening. In the afternoon of the same day, they held consultations with the All Progressives Congress Presidential candidate Senator Bola Tinubu and the Labour Party Presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, in an expanded meeting that included the Heads of Missions of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU), His Excellency Ernest Bai Koroma and His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta, respectively, as well as the President of the ECOWAS Commission, His Excellency Dr. Omar Alieu Touray.
The visit by WAEF, led by Mr Mahama, was to underscore the need to “maintain the peace and stability of Nigeria.”
Former President Mahama and President-elect Bola Tinubu
They made their request following challenges of delay in arrival of electoral materials, voter suppression, ballot box vandalization and incidents of violence in some states over the weekend, which created anxiety among citizens who were passionate to cast their ballots.
According to the leaders, “Nigeria is a major stakeholder in the sustainability of democracy in West Africa and the responsibility of maintaining the nation’s thriving democracy and the general peace of our sub-region rest on all our shoulders, especially on the integrity of INEC and other election management bodies in West Africa, during elections.”
President-elect Bola Tinubu and former President Goodluck Jonathan
On Wednesday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Mr Bola Tinubu president-elect.
He secured 36% of the vote while his main rival Atiku Abubakar polled 29%, and Labour Party’s Peter Obi 25%, official results show.
Meanwhile, some political parties and concerned citizens have raised procedural questions and allegations of infractions of the electoral law in the process of collation of results.
The West Africa Elders Forum (WAEF) Election Mission to Nigeria has therefore entreated the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to thoroughly investigate those concerns and comply with the electoral law and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in the process of collating the election results.
Afrobeats may be the popular music in Ghana and many other African nations right now, but Jamaican music is still played loudly practically constantly in Ghana’s roadside and beach bars.
Reggae night is held every Thursday in two large clubs in Accra, the country’s capital, amplifying the already hot weather.
Ghana demonstrates that the roots of reggae music have spread widely and have produced local talent.
Jamaican performers like the late greats Bob Marley and Peter Tosh and the group Culture are widely acknowledged with sowing the seeds of reggae music on African soil 50 years ago.
Image caption,Accra has a wealth of reggae and dancehall gigs to offer
This love of reggae has also had a cultural bearing on the language: it is not hard these days to hear Ghanaians talking a little Jamaican Patois, which is different from Pidgin English, a lingua franca spoken by roughly a fifth of Ghana’s population.
Take Livingston Satekla, one the biggest reggae-dancehall artists to come out of Africa, better known as Stonebwoy. The spelling of his stage name is a nod to Jamaican Patois.
The phrase “Who is that boy singing?” in Ghanaian Pidgin is: “Who be dat boy weh he de sing for deh?” In Jamaican Patois it is: “Ah who dat bwoy weh im ah sing fi deh?”
In a recent interview Stonebwoy and I discussed the growing use of Patois in Ghana, frowned upon by some Ghanaians.
“What’s wrong with learning to communicate in Patois, which comes as part and parcel of reggae-dancehall as a core tool of communication? If you love reggae-dancehall you ought to learn Patois,” the 34-year-old musician told me.
Born in the ghettos of Ashaiman outside Accra, Stonebwoy would regularly listen to Jamaican dancehall dons like Capelton, Anthony-B and Beenie Man as a teenager – wanting to sound just like his Patois-speaking heroes.
He would later go on to host some of the very same people at his annual BHIM Concert, arguably one of the most successful dancehall showcases in Africa.
It takes place in December as part of Ghana’s Beyond The Return campaign – a project designed to encourage people from the diaspora to visit the country.
It draws big crowds – me included – and last year featured Jamaica’s Busy Signal, who had many of his fellow countrymen and women singing along to his hits.
Some in the audience could be seen with dreadlocks – worn by Rastafarians.
Reggae has been instrumental in spreading the rasta message. It too has been a cheerleader for Africa – singing about the beauty of the continent, boasting of its natural resources while calling for people in the diaspora to return to the motherland.
This has gone a long way to solidify the bond between reggae and Africa, especially during and after colonial rule.
It makes sense that Ghana, among the first African countries to gain independence (from the UK in 1957), gravitates to the sounds of struggle and strife associated with reggae. It has had plenty of struggle and strife, having experienced six military coups between the 1960s and 1980s.
One of the first big reggae artists in Ghana was Kojo Antwi, also known as Mr Music Man.
Antwi started his career in the 1970s working with reggae band Classique Handles which later changed its name to Classique Vibes. Their debut 1979 album Higher: Suffer Hell on Earth addresses the economic struggles of the ghetto and how a lack of job opportunities can lead to starvation.
By the mid-1980s Antwi would become better known for love songs with lyrics in his local language Twi – sung over the less political lovers’ rock reggae sound, which went on to inspire other big Ghanaian artists.
While Mr Music Man was serenading his homeland, a young northern Ghanaian, Rocky Dawuni, of royal heritage, was beginning to make waves on the global reggae scene with the 1998 hit In Ghana. His growing popularity saw some of his tracks featuring on various US TV dramas and three Grammy nominations to his name.
If reggae is the parent, dancehall is definitely its mischievous child – with skilful lyricism and the unmistakable tones of Patois.
One of the first successful descendants of this in Ghana is Samini, famous for his energetic live performances, singing in Pidgin, Patois and Twi.
Often referred to as Africa’s King of Dancehall Music, he has received accolades from foreign and domestic organisations, including a Mobo back in 2006 for Best African Act and an MTV Africa Music award in 2009 for Best Live Performer.
Not being content with his solo accomplishments, Samini helped launched the career of top Ghanaian artist Mugeez as well as playing a huge role in kick-starting the career of Stonebwoy.
There is also another contender with a legitimate claim to Ghana’s dancehall throne: Shatta Wale.
As a student in Accra, he performed using the names Doggy and Bandana, producing one hit in 2004 and then disappearing into relative obscurity.
It took a trip to Jamaica to bring his resurrection.
He returned as Shatta Wale – now with a devoted fan-base and catalogue of hits including an epic collaboration in 2019 with Beyoncé on Already. The 38-year-old’s golden touch has also extended to business and he owns a successful line of taxis known as Shaxi.
Currently, Shatta Wale and Stonebwoy are two of Africa’s biggest reggae-dancehall stars and memorably participated in the Asaase Sound Clash at the height of Covid in 2020.
The onstage competition, a musical tradition that originated in Jamaica, was live-streamed globally and hosted by Grammy award-winning producer and BBC broadcaster Seani B.
As each artist tried to outdo the other, their fans shouted out their appreciation, with the phrase “dat tune deh mad” (Jamaican Patois for “that song is awesome”) ringing through the venue.
Both sets of supporters believed their man had won on the night. However, the real winner was GH dancehall – a true child of Jamaica.
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author’s, and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana
A request for an increase in the BOST margin has been made to the government by Edwin Provencal, managing director of Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Ltd (BOST).
BOST Margin is a tax on petroleum products that is used to fund depot expansion projects and the upkeep and operation of petroleum product depots.
But, Mr. Provencal claims that the present margin is woefully insufficient and that he would welcome it if the government increased it to 12 pesewas per litre.
Speaking to the media, he said the increment will help them maintain and enhance the deteriorating facilities at BOST and also set up new infrastructure.
“The BOST margin is solely for infrastructure and we need a lot of money and would appeal for an increment in the margin. I need a minimum of 12 pesewas to construct tank farms in the Western region, Central, Upper West and connect Takoradi pipelines to Kumasi which will require about two billion from petroleum revenue,” he said.
For failing to keep their players under control during the Premier League match at Old Trafford, Manchester United and Crystal Palace have each been fined £55,000.
During the second half of the game, a large brawl broke out, during which Casemiro was dismissed for placing his hands around Will Hughes’ neck.
Jeffrey Schlupp’s forceful challenge on Antony that resulted in both players receiving yellow cards set off the incident.
An FA spokesperson said: “Manchester United and Crystal Palace respectively accepted and denied that they failed to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion and refrained from provocative behaviour.
“An independent Regulatory Commission subsequently found the charge against Crystal Palace proven and imposed both of the clubs’ fines.”
United, who just won the EFL Cup, play West Ham in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday, while Palace return to Premier League action on Saturday away at Aston Villa.
Ghana international, Patrick Twumasi was in fine form on Tuesday night and inspired Maccabi Netanya to overcome Maccabi Haifa 2-1 in the Israeli Cup.
In today’s pivotal second-leg match of the quarterfinal match, the forward started for his club.
Patrick Twumasi was expected to perform better today after scoring in the first leg of the tie, which ended 2-2.
Sadly for his squad, Dia Saba of Maccabi Haifa scored the game’s opening goal in the 28th minute.
Liran Rotman scored later in the 49th minute of the second half to give Maccabi Netanya a point back.
With the game travelling into extra time, Patrick Twumasi made himself the hero for his team as his 99th-minute equaliser sealed a 2-1 win for Maccabi Netanya against Maccabi Haifa.
The win has sent the Ghana forward and his teammates to the semi-finals of the Israeli Cup.
President Akufo-Addo has implored countries considered to be allies of Ghana to support Ghana’s request for a $3 billion extended credit facility (ECF) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
A staff level agreement (SLA) between Ghana and the Fund has previously been agreed upon, but the Executive Board of the Fund has not yet given its approval.
The President expressed optimism that it will happen by the end of the month.
On Tuesday, February 28, at Peduase Lodge in the Eastern Region, President Akufo-Addo addressed members of the diplomatic corps as part of the 2023 Presentation of Diplomatic Greetings.
He pointed out that already Ghana has had the tacit support of the so-called Paris Club.
“Just as we manged to achieve a staff level agreement with the Fund in record time in December last year whose terms were systematically fulfilling including the difficult but ultimately highly successful process of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, I am confident that with the cooperation we have received from the members of the Paris Club and the People’s Republic of China, which had sent a delegation from China’s EXIM Bank to Accra over the weekend to meet with officials of the Ministry of Finance, we shall be able to go to the Board of the Fund to conclude finally the agreement by the end of March,” he said.
“This will set the stage for the strong recovery of Ghana’s economy. Needless to say, we will hope that all Ghana’s friends will weigh in with words of support at the Fund.”
President Akufo-Addo conceded that the country’s balance of payment in 2022 was thrown out of gear as a result of many factors including the Russia-Ukraine war, plunging the country into “considerable difficulties”.
But he indicated that the move to IMF was for a “short term” to repair the country’s public finances.
Jurgen Klopp has revealed that Luis Diaz won’t be ready for Liverpool’s Champions League second-leg trip to Real Madrid.
Since sustaining a knee injury during the Reds’ 3-2 Premier League loss to Arsenal in October, Diaz has been sidelined.
In an interview with Sky Sports two weeks ago, the Colombia international seemed to hint at the last-16 second leg on March 15 being a possible return date, saying: “Let’s wait a little to see when I can come back to the pitch, and if it’s the [Santiago] Bernabeu, it will be no problem.”
The winger has not yet returned to training, according to Klopp, and will miss that critical game. Liverpool is trying to pull off the unbelievable after losing 5-2 to Madrid in the first leg at Anfield last week.
Despite the 26-year-old’s long absence, Klopp is confident he can have a big influence on the team when he does return, adding to reporters: “It’s estimated that maybe next week he will be warming up with the team and then maybe a week later being in team training.
“I’m positive about him that there’s a good chance to have a real impact in 10, 11, 12 games, maybe. We will see how long it exactly takes.
“When he is back, he will be really good and very impactful, of course. That is clear. How quickly, I don’t know. We have to see.
“That’s the big challenge in these moments. There’s no time for being patient, but you have to be patient.
“But you always have to wait. On Tuesday, I saw a very intense session, a lot of change of direction and stuff like this. If there is no reaction from that, then he can make the next step.”
Following the Portuguese fourth official’s dismissal in Tuesday’s 2-1 Serie A loss for Roma at Cremonese, Jose Mourinho has threatened legal action against Marco Serra.
As Daniel Ciofani scored the game-winning penalty in the 83rd minute, Mourinho’s team missed the opportunity to climb up to second place in the league standings and returned home empty-handed.
The Roma manager was fired by referee Marco Piccinini just after halftime, his team trailing 1-0, after an altercation with Serra on the sidelines—not for the first time this season.
“I am emotional, but not crazy,” Mourinho told DAZN. “In order to react the way I did, something had to happen first. I need to understand if I can take any legal action.
“Piccinini gave me a red card, because unfortunately the fourth official does not have the capacity to understand what he said to me.
“I want to find out if there is an audio recording. I don’t want to get into the fact that Serra is from Turin and on Sunday we are playing against Juventus.
“For the first time in my career, a fourth official spoke to me in the most incredible way. It was unjustifiable.
“At the end of the game, I went to speak to them. Piccinini, who was the fourth official in the last game when I was sent off, told me to apologise to Serra.
“I told Serra he should have the courage to explain what happened, but he had memory problems.”
Mourinho lamented his side’s display with the race for the top four wide open ahead of the Giallorossi’s clash with Juventus on Sunday.
“We were a little unlucky, conceding two goals on their one and a half chances,” he said. “The responsibility is ours. We lacked intensity, should’ve killed off the game straight away.
“I am taking it one game at a time. I cannot leave this game behind now, I cannot even think about Sunday. There is frustration, which obliges me to analyse. It is a pity this thing happened with Serra: I respect someone as much as they respect me.”
Following persistent negotiations with Chinese authorities for debt cancellation, President Akufo-Addo is sure Ghana will achieve a final agreement with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout by the end of this month.
He claims that a meeting with the Chinese Exim Bank is going well and suggests that the nation may close a deal with the Paris club.
At the annual gathering of ambassadors and high commissioners yesterday night at the Peduase lodge, he made this statement in a speech.
“Just as we managed to get the staff level agreement in recorded time in December last year, whose terms we’re systematically fulfilling including the difficult but ultimately highly successful process of the domestic debt exchange programme, I’m confident that with the cooperation that we’re receiving from the Paris Club and the People’s Republic of China which has sent a delegation from China’s EXIM Bank to Accra over the weekend to meet with officials of the Ministry of Finance, we shall be able to go to the board of the Fund to conclude finally the agreement by the end of March. This will set the stage for the strong recovery of Ghana’s economy,” he said.
His assurance follows his appeal to Germany to “encourage” China, an ad hoc member of the Paris Club, to support Ghana’s debt restructuring efforts.
In order to support the initiatives that would enable Ghana to resume economic growth, he said it is imperative that the Paris Club quickly creates a creditors committee with the participation of other official creditors.
When the German Finance Minister, Christian Lindner, visited the President at Jubilee House in Accra, the President made the call.
Major Maxwell Mahama was brutally lynched in 2017, and one of the 14 people accused of his murder has acknowledged to bashing the deceased military officer in the head with a brick during the attack.
But, Akwasi Baah testified before an Accra High Court on Tuesday that the deceased soldier was already dead when he struck his head with the cement block. Akwasi Baah was led in as evidence by his counsel to submit his evidence-in-chief.
According to a Dailyguidenetwork.com report seen by GhanaWeb, the accused told the court that he was not there when the mob attacked Major Mahama but that he subsequently arrived at the scene after he had been battered to death. The accused was reportedly led by George Bernard Shaw.
The suspect said that he had been the victim of a robbery the day before the incident and that when he arrived at the scene of the lynching, he noticed that the deceased was sporting a boot that matched one of his attackers’ outfits from the robbery he had endured.
On May 28, 2017, while traveling from Dunkwa-on-Offin to Obuasi, Akwasi Baah testified in court that a group of armed robbers ambushed the vehicle he was riding in.
He claimed that armed bandits had blocked the road and hijacked the automobile after ordering the occupants to get out. The thieves then searched every passenger inside the car before fleeing.
He narrated that while he was at home the next day, he heard a noise and was informed that an armed robber had shot a young man in the foot and he had been taken to the clinic so he decided to go to the clinic to find out if the person was his relative.
He left the clinic upon finding out that the young man was not related to him and ten minutes after leaving the clinic, he heard an armed robber had been killed so he went to the scene where the incident occurred.
The suspect said he found at the scene the very gun that was used to rob him the previous day and also saw the deceased wearing the same boots that was used in kicking him during the robbery.
“This made me pick up a block and hit the deceased,” he recounted.
Chief State Attorney, Frances Mullen Ansah who led the prosecution during the cross-examination of the suspect, replayed a video of the gruesome lynching of the deceased in court.
Akwasi Baah while under questioning by the prosecution, identified himself as the person who smashed the head of the late Major Mahama who lay motionless at the time.
The suspect admitted that due to the heavy weight of the block, he had to carry it with his two hands but denied that he smashed the head of the deceased soldier on purpose.
Ghana’s local currency, cedi, the second-worst performing currency in the world this year, is doomed to further suffering after the nation missed a deadline it set for itself to restructure its bilateral debt and go closer to receiving international aid.
In order to be eligible for a $3 billion International Monetary Fund program, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta wanted to negotiate a restructuring agreement with bilateral creditors by the end of February.
Ghana has only partially finished the exchange program’s domestic debt component so far.
After the Lebanese pound, the cedi has underperformed among the more than 100 currencies tracked by Bloomberg, falling 21% versus the dollar in 2023.
Still, the missed deadline doesn’t automatically derail the talks.
Rather, it highlights the difficulties Ghana faces as it tries to reduce its debt load and contend with critics ranging from international bondholders to local trade unions.
“For the foreseeable future the cedi will continue to be volatile until we are able to make substantial progress on the external debt restructuring front,” Kweku Arkoh-Koomson, an economist at Databank Group, said by phone.
“The IMF deal is what will cause a clear stability in the cedi.”
Local bondholders have been asked to voluntarily exchange ¢130 billion of debt for new bonds that will pay between 8.35% and 15% interest, compared with an average of 19% on old bonds.
Ghana stands to ask external creditors to write off as much as 50% of the debt it owes them — far higher than the 30% the government initially considered, S&P Global Ratings said in a report Tuesday.
“Uncertainty on when the rest of the restructuring will be completed” is influencing cedi volatility, said Courage Boti, an economist at Accra-based GCB Capital Ltd.
“To the extent that those things are hanging in the balance now — in that timelines are not very certain — the volatility of the cedi will continue.”
To date, local investors have exchanged ¢87.8 billion, or 67.5% of bonds under restructuring, for new securities, against an overall target of 80%.
The country will have to reorganize obligations owed to local pension funds to complete the domestic exchange, a move that’s running into criticism from trade unions.
The government aims to start “substantive” discussions with international bondholders and their advisers in the coming weeks, Ofori-Atta said last month, offering eurobond holders some losses while seeking to reschedule payments on bilateral obligations.
Manchester City defeated tenacious Bristol City 3-0 at Ashton Gate to go to the FA Cup quarterfinals.
In front of a large crowd in the West Country, Phil Foden scored twice, and Kevin De Bruyne added a late flourish as the six-time FA Cup champions halted Bristol City’s 12-game winning streak.
The final score was unfair to the hosts because they trailed after Foden’s goal in the seventh minute and remained competitive deep into the fourth quarter.
Yet 16 minutes from time, Foden’s deflected goal and a beautiful De Bruyne finish guaranteed the visitors’ spot in the round of eight.
De Bruyne, who had missed two games due to illness, made five changes to the Manchester City lineup from the team that defeated Bournemouth on Saturday.
England midfielder Kalvin Phillips made only his second start since leaving Leeds last summer as Ederson, Erling Haaland, Ilkay Gundogan, Jack Grealish and Rodri began the night on the bench.
Phillips was clearly determined to impress after his injury troubles and only 63 seconds had elapsed when he struck the crossbar from 25 yards.
In a frantic opening Manuel Akanji’s slip gave Sam Bell a shooting opportunity that ended up being deflected wide and the visitors were ahead soon after.
Riyad Mahrez worked a clever one-two with De Bruyne and the Algerian’s cross to the far post was swept high into the net by Foden, who scored for the second successive game.
Bristol City’s response was a loud penalty shout after Mark Sykes tangled with Rico Lewis. It appeared a legitimate appeal but referee Andre Marriner was unmoved and, with no VAR in operation, home fans were left frustrated.
Julian Alvarez miskicked in front of the home goal from Foden’s cross, but Bristol City were acquitting themselves well and getting a fair amount of joy down their left flank.
Alex Scott shot straight at Stefan Ortega and Bell fired over after Tomas Kalas caught De Bruyne in possession.
Manchester City’s threat was also evident as Mahrez saw his volley headed off the line by Kalas and Ruben Dias tested Max O’Leary with a header.
Mahrez was making his 400th appearance in English football and Robins boss Nigel Pearson, who signed him for Leicester in 2014 from French club Le Havre, could not resist having a word with the Algerian when he went to ground following a touchline challenge from Cameron Pring.
Ederson replaced Ortega at half-time and Manchester City took charge of the contest without working O’Leary until Alvarez forced him into a save low to his right.
Foden was caught late and took instant retribution on Sykes to earn a yellow card and a word from his manager Pep Guardiola to stay focused.
The temperature was rising both on and off the pitch as the contest became more balanced and Bristol City fans urged their players to seize the moment.
It almost arrived when Scott dispossessed Dias for Andreas Weimann to send over a cross which Bell headed just wide.
But it was all over when De Bruyne played a wonderful through ball to Nathan Ake before Alvarez helped it on to Foden, and the Belgium midfielder ensured he would have the last word from 20 yards.
Twelve more Lassa fever cases have been confirmed in the country by the Ghana Health Service.
This comes after the first two cases, which were reported in Accra on February 26.
Following the implementation of control measures, including as contact tracing tests of all individuals who had been in close contact with the original two confirmed cases, the 12 additional cases were found.
The total number of confirmed patients for this epidemic now stands at 14. Thus far, one death has been reported.
According to the GHS, “all 13 cases are alive and in stable condition and are being managed in designated health facilities. A total of 97 contacts have been identified and efforts are underway to identify more contacts.”
❗️PRESS RELEASE ❗️ Update on Lassa Fever Outbreak in Ghana -28th February 2023 pic.twitter.com/ASSLIjvCkV
Meanwhile, “A probable case has been reported from Central Region and contacts are being identified and monitored while we await confirmation. Psychological support is being provided for all cases and contacts.”
The GHS took the opportunity to remind the public to follow preventive measures in order to avoid falling victim to the virus.
These include:
1. Avoid contact with rodents (mice, rats, etc).
2. Ensure good environmental hygiene and institute measures such as storing grain and other foodstuffs in rodent-proof containers, disposing of garbage far from the home, maintaining clean households and keeping cats to prevent rodent infestation.
3. Avoid contact with blood and body fluids while caring for sick persons.
“The Ghana Health Service wishes to remind the public of the need to report to the nearest health facility when unwell. We want to assure the public that, we will continue to work with our partners to ensure the safety of the entire population,” it concluded.
All People’s Congress’ (APC) candidate, Bola Tinubu, has won the 2023 Nigerian presidential election.
APC’s Tinubu, PDP’s Atiku Abubakr and LP’s Peter Obi were considered the frontrunners in the elections that was held over the weekend.
After collation by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), 70-year-old Tinubu got 36% of the vote, official results show.
His main rival Atiku Abubakar polled 29%, and Labour’s Peter Obi 25%.
Ealier, the opposition parties dismissed the poll as a sham, and demanded a rerun.
Mr Tinubu is one of Nigeria’s richest politicians, and based his campaign on his record of rebuilding the biggest city, Lagos, when he was governor.
He was nevertheless defeated in the city by Mr Obi, a relative newcomer who mobilised the support of many young people, especially in urban areas, shaking up the country’s two-party system.
Mr Bola Tinubu will now take over the helm of affairs from President Buhari.
He becomes the fifth president after Nigeria ended its military rule.
Due to claimed extensive irregularities, three opposition parties have demanded that Nigeria’s election be annulled and held again.
At a news conference in the nation’s capital, Abuja, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Labour Party, and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) made the statement.
“I demand that this sham of an election be cancelled and we call on Inec to conduct fresh elections within the window period provided by the electoral act,” Julius Abure, chairman of the Labour Party said.
The PDP chairman at the recent press conference in the capital, Abuja, where his party along with two other opposition parties called for the cancellation of the election, called for calm.
“We don’t want Nigerians to erupt,” Iyorchia Ayu said.
Earlier, the police chief warned candidates and their parties against inciting violence.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has confirmed there have been major technical hitches, which has made it difficult to upload results on to its server.
At the opposition press conference in Abuja, the PDP’s agent, Dino Melaye, said the problems with servers should have been corrected before any results were announced.
Meanwhile, a group of angry protesters have gathered outside the national collation centre in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.
They are carrying placards denouncing the Independent National Electoral Commission, alleging votes have been stolen.
“Everything happening there is all lies, all lies, lies… they are cooking up results,” one man told the BBC as he pointed to the Inec collation centre.
Prof. Charles Adias, the Independent National Electoral Commission’s designated collation officer for the presidential election in Nigeria’s Rivers State, has put the process on hold due to alleged threats to his life.
At the start of collation at the INEC headquarters in Port Harcourt on Tuesday morning, Prof. Adias, who is also the vice chancellor of the Federal University in Bayelsa State, revealed that the threats were from members of a specific political party.
He stated, “I have been receiving threats, messages and calls to my life and that of my family for two days now. My picture is all over the social media that I was sent to rig the elections in Rivers State.
“Every hour, I receive more than one million calls of threats to my life and other things. I hereby stand down collation until the INEC and security agencies can guarantee my safety to continue this national assignment.”
The Select Committee on Health of Parliament has given the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu, two hours to come before it and inform lawmakers of the lack of necessary vaccines.
This morning, the committee was scheduled to meet with the Minister and representatives from the Health Ministry.
But, despite sitting and waiting for hours, none of the invited officials appeared.
Mohamed Muntaka Mubarak, a committee member, said the Minister’s actions were regrettable and insulting.
Hospitals have had a hard time getting measles, polio, and tuberculosis vaccines.
The situation has not improved despite the Ghana Health Service’s pledges that it will make every attempt to supply immunizations.
Furthermore anticipated attendees include representatives from the Ghana Health Service, the Vaccine Control Programme, the Ministry of Finance, the National Health Insurance Authority, and the Global Fund.
There has been a shortage of vaccines in the Northern Region and other areas of the nation for a number of months, and a solution has not been found.
Experts have cautioned that if quick action is not done to obtain vaccinations for child immunization, Ghana risked seeing an outbreak of pediatric diseases.
The Paediatric Society of Ghana for example added to this caution on the back of reports of vaccine shortages nationwide.
According to the Paediatric Society of Ghana, the reports are just the tip of the iceberg since more facilities are recording an outbreak of measles.
120 cases of measles were recorded in the Northern Region by end of December 2022 due to the shortage of essential vaccines.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has acknowledged the vaccine shortages and attributed the situation to the free fall of the cedi against major trading currencies, especially the dollar.
An Accra Circuit Court has adjourned the stabbing case involving professional boxer Braimah Isaac Kamoko, often known as “Bukom Banku,” and his son Mustapha Kamoko until March 29.
The prosecution was instructed to submit their disclosures for the Case Management Conference by a High Court Judge who was also serving as a Circuit Court Judge, according to the court presided over by Mrs. Justice Adelaide Abui Kedey.
According to reports, Banku helped Prosper Quaye hurt Ismael Quaye at Bukom in the Greater Accra Area. Bukom Banku is in court right now facing a charge of aiding criminal activity.
Mustapha Kamoko, Bukom Banku’s son, is also accused of causing damage.
Since then, the accused have maintained their innocence and were released on GH50,000 bail apiece.
The prosecution said the complainant, Mr Ishmael Neequaye, is a footballer residing at Bukom while the accused persons [Bukom Banku and his son] are boxers and Prosper Quaye, unemployed.
The prosecution said the accused persons were residents of Bukom, near James Town. It said on November 25, 2022, at about 17:30 hours, the complainant was in his room sleeping when he heard an unusual noise around his house.
The prosecution said the complainant woke up and saw the accused persons seriously attacking some friends of his, including Julius Tagoe, a witness in the case.
It said the complainant approached them and calmed the situation and that Bukom Banku on seeing the complainant, broke a bottle and gave it to Mustapha to inflict wounds on him.
The prosecution told the Court that Mustapha inflicted a deep wound on the abdomen of the complainant who bled profusely.
It said Prosper also took a stone and hit a 32-inch television belonging to Tagoe. The prosecution said the complainant was rushed to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital where he was admitted.
It said the accused persons escaped arrest, necessitating the issuance of criminal summons to have them appear in court.
Parliament is expected to engage the Electoral Commission (EC), Finance Minister and the National Identification Authority (NIA).
Jean Mensa and Ken Atafuah for the EC and NIA, respectively, are to answer to the House over the voter registration law.
Mr Ofori-Atta is also expected to brief the House on the same matter.
Parliament last Thursday held a heated pre-laying debate on the report of the Special Budget Committee on the Draft Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2022 and other related matters.
In the new Constitutional Instrument (CI) the Electoral Commission (CI) has expressed the intention of using the Ghana Card or ECOWAS Card, as the only form of identification or medium to qualify a citizen of Ghana who is legible to vote to registered or enrolled onto the voters’ register.
France’s new Africa plan, launched by French President Emmanuel Macron, calls for more local personnel to administer its facilities while reducing the number of French troops on the continent.
It happens only a few weeks after Moscow offered to provide more military assistance and training to nations in West Africa.
As more international countries compete for influence on the continent, Mr. Macron unveiled the new approach prior to a four-nation African visit.
French military installations in Africa, according to President Macron, are remnants of the past.
Yet, he asserted that his nation shouldn’t be held responsible for the defeat of extremist organizations in the Sahel.
French forces, who had been fighting against militants in the region for more than a decade, pulled out of Mali last year after the country invited in the Wagner group.
Mr Macron described the group as the life insurance of failing regimes.
French troops were also asked to leave Burkina Faso in January amid a growing anti-France sentiment.
Mr Macron’s newly unveiled strategy is meant to redefine France’s relationship with Africa as competition from Russia and China grows.
An EU observation team has criticized the lack of openness and operational mistakes in the Nigerian election.
Throughout the election’s planning, it was stated that there was faith in the electoral body’s independence and expertise.
However the observers noted that a lack of good preparation and communication throughout the process, especially on election day, contributed to a decline in public confidence.
The observers observed that some polling places opened their doors late and that voting procedures weren’t always followed.
They said the uploading of the results using an electronic system did not work, raising concerns as transmission of presidential election results forms was delayed.
The observer team has urged stakeholders in the election to uphold peace until the process is completed and called for any disputes arising to be addressed through legal channels.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released the results of 14 states with regards to Nigeria’s presidential election.
All People’s Congress’ (APC) Bola Tinubu has won six states. They are Kwara state, Oyo state, Ogun state, Ekiti state, Ondo state and Jigawa state.
Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party has won five states. Osun state, Adamawa state, Gombe state, Yobe state and Katsina state are the said five.
Peter Obi, who is representing the Labour Party has won three states, namely; Lagos state, Enugu state and Nasarawa state.
To win in the first round, a candidate must have the largest number of votes nationwide. Also, he or she must have at least 25% of the votes in two-thirds of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) received 997,279 votes in Kano state, making him the winner of the presidential election in the said area.
He served as the state’s governor twice, from 1999 to 2003 and from 2011 to 2015.
With 517,3411 votes, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress came in second place in the election results.
With 131,716 votes, opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won.
Suleiman Bilbis, the state’s returning officer, revealed the results.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) chairperson must certify and declare the results at the state level.
Results coming in from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) indicate that candidate for All Progressives Congress’ (APC), Bola Tinubu, has secured 44% of the votes so far.
These are from official results declared in 14 out of 36 states.
The People’s Democratic Party’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar has secured 33% while Labour Party’s Peter Obi, who caused an upset by defeating Mr Tinubu in Lagos has 17%.
Mr Abubakar is a former vice-president who has failed in previous presidential bids, whereas Mr Obi is running for the presidency for the first time.
Mr Tinubu, on the other hand, is seen as a political godfather.
He now wants to be president and take over affairs from President Muhammadu Buhari, who is stepping down after governing for two terms.
As a Democrat, Bola Tinubu, the candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC), says he must accept the results of the 2023 election.
The former governor of Lagos State also stated that democracy’s beauty can be seen in Peter Obi’s triumph over his Labour Party (LP) rival in the state.
In addition, Tinubu urged his supporters to be calm and uphold peace, saying Obi’s victory in Lagos shouldn’t be a cause for agitation.
“The APC candidate further said that as a democrat he is bound to accept the outcome of any election whether favourable or not,” said a statement by the Director, Media & Publicity of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga on Monday.
Tinubu also expressed serious concern over reports of violence in parts of the state especially reported attacks on some traders of Igbo origin.
The former Lagos State Governor condemned any form of violence against people of any ethnic group in Lagos.
“The fact that the APC narrowly lost Lagos State to another party should not be the reason for violence. As a democrat, you win some, you lose some. We must allow the process to continue unhindered across the country while we maintain peace and decorum,” the statement said.
Obi defeated the former governor of Lagos State, who received 572,606 votes, with a vote total of 582,454.
From 1999 to 2007, the state’s governor was based in Lagos. Obi also defeated Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) (NNPP).
Atiku received 75,750 votes and Kwankwaso received 8,442.
Though Tinubu won 11 local government areas in the state Obi won the overall votes in the state, with a landslide victory in nine powerful local governments with numerical strength including Alimosho, Ojo and Oshodi-Isolo, Kosofe, Amuwo Odofin, amongst others.
The accredited votes in the state are 1,347,452, the total valid votes are 1,271,451, rejected votes 64,278 and the total votes cast 1,335,729.
Nigerians are awaiting the final results to find out who will succeed President Muhammadu Buhari, as well as the results for the numerous candidates elected to the national parliament and the senate.
Results from the various states in the nation are still coming in slowly after more than 48 hours.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nigeria has characterized the election as largely peaceful, despite isolated incidents of violence and interference at some polling places.
The Commission has been providing updates about the electoral process in between time during which they also announce voting results from the states where results have been collated.
The provisional figures indicated in no way determine the final results as the figures from the other states could change the ‘game’ at any point.
Regardless, these are the figures currently as indicative of provisional results.
1. Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) currently has 3,329,968 votes representing 42.98%
2. Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) currently has 2,292,433 representing 29.59%
3. Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) has some 1,480,948 votes, representing 19.11%
4. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNP) got 573,372 representing 7.40%
The other candidates – Peter Umeadi of APGA, Adebayo Adewole of SDP, Omoyele Sowore of AAC, Dumebi Kachikwu of ADC, Christopher Imumolen of AP, Hamza Al-Mustapha of AA, Yusuf Sani Yabagi of ADP, Ojei Chichi of APM, Adenuga Sunday Oluwafemi of BP, Okwudili Nwa-Anyajike of NRM, Abiola Latifu Kolawole of PRP, Ado-Ibrahim Abdulmalik of YPP, Daniel Nwanyanwu of ZLP, and Charles Nnadi Osita of APP all currently have votes beneath 1%.
Breakdown:
Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won states like Benue, Jigawa, Katsina, Kwara, Lagos, Niger, Ogun, Oyo, Rivers, Sokoto, Yobe and Ekiti Atiku Abuabkar of of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won states including – Ondo, Federal Capital Territory, Taraba, Osun, Kaduna, Bayelsa, Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, and Adamawa
Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) won states including Abia, Delta, Ebony, Edo, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, and Plateau
Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNP) won the Kano state.
Unknown individuals have ransacked Nii Ashie Moore’s office, who serves as the NDC’s regional chairman for the Greater Accra region.
The event happened early on February 27, 2023, at his office in Teshie, First Junction in Accra, according to reports made available to Citi News.
The relocated employees who frequently collaborate with Mr. Ashie Moore claim that additional properties were vandalized in addition to stealing the Regional Chairman’s laptop and his laptop.
According to Albert Luterodt, an accounts officer at the office, both the personnel and the locals were shocked by the incident.
“We came to work at exactly 8 am today, and we realized the whole place had been messed up. The accounts office and the cashier’s office were forcefully opened. They entered Ashie Moore’s main office to steal his laptop. They have destroyed everything.”
Mr. Luterodt also disclosed that the police have launched investigations into the events.
“The Police are looking into the matter. We have not been allowed inside to touch anything. We the staff are standing right in front of the office in shock. We are all worried. Luckily Mr. Ashie Moore tells me he was not around when the thugs came,” he added.
Jia Xin Industrial Mining Corporation has received final consent from the chiefs and residents of Akokoaso, a rural hamlet in the Akyemansa District rich in mineral reserves, to conduct business there.
The community protested to stop the Chinese mining business from utilizing prospecting licenses to dig for gold in the region earlier, and now they have given their approval.
Following receipt of a community petition, the Minerals commission halted the company’s operations in the region.
The Jia Xin industrial mining firm has been awarded permission to start work in the area after obtaining all required mining papers and fulfilling all relevant procedures with community stakeholder participation.
Speaking at a community stakeholders engagement organized by the Minerals Commission, the Queen Mother of Akokoaso Nana Agyeiwaa Kodie II appreciated the mining company for securing all necessary documents.
“We want to appreciate the Minerals commission for intervening in ensuring that the right thing is done and sanctioning them. We thought they were engaging in galamsey but that is not the case because the president despises illegal mining so this company will not be given documents to engage in illegal mining.
“We are grateful to them because we know they will employ community members to work in the company so I want to tell the company that out of the number of workers who will be employed, the community should be given a 70 percent ratio and the 30 percent for foreigners, so all abled members of the community should get ready to work”.
The Manager of the mining company speaking to the media after the community engagement denied claims that the company is into illegal mining
“We are not engaging in galamsey, we are looking forward to employing competent members of the community who are willing and ready to work. Our structures here at the site can never be referred to as galamsey because we are doing legitimate work, we do not use chemicals and you can see from the green around the site.
“As part of our corporate social responsibility to the community we have already dug two boreholes for them with pumping machines, now that we are resuming work here we will put the overhead tanks on it and provide another water system for them”.
“It’s a fact that they have some legitimate concerns and I want to assure you that we are going to sit with them and get it all addressed”.
On his part, the Akim Oda Divisional Police Commander ACP Rev. Dr Adane Ameyaw cautioned the youth of the community to leave in harmony with the workers and desist from creating unnecessary tension in the community.
“I want to caution all of you to stay away from trouble because the law will not shield anyone not even children or women if they come in contact with it”.
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