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NIGERIA WINS JOLLOF DERBY, BOOKS PLACE IN UNITY CUP FINAL

CapitalTimesNews / 1 month

1 min read

Nigeria’s Super Eagles have emerged victorious in the highly anticipated Jollof Derby, defeating Ghana’s Black Stars 2-1 in the Unity Cup semi-final. Cyriel Dessers opened the scoring for Nigeria in the 14th minute with a clinical finish, assisted by Sodiq Ismail. Ghana’s Razak Simpson inadvertently extended Nigeria’s lead just five minutes later with an own goal. The first half saw Ghana struggle to create scoring opportunities, failing to record a single shot on target. However, the Black Stars showed resilience in the second half, with substitute Brandon Asante-Thomas pulling one back in the 70th minute. Despite Ghana’s late efforts, Nigeria held firm to secure a 2-1 win and book their place in the Unity Cup final. The Super Eagles will face Jamaica on Saturday, who defeated Trinidad and Tobago 3-2 in their semi-final match. This victory gives Nigeria bragging rights in the Jollof Derby, a rivalry that goes beyond football and celebrates cultural unity among African and Caribbean nations. The Unity Cup is more than just a tournament – it’s a celebration of unity, passion, and national pride.

STATUE OF EX-GHANA PRESIDENT AKUFO-ADDO DESTROYED

Nicolas Adekeye / 5 months

3 min read

A statue of Ghana’s immediate past President, Nana Akufo-Addo, put up at the end of last year has been destroyed. The unveiling by Akufo-Addo of his own likeness in November in the country’s Western Region sparked a social media backlash, as well as being mocked and described as “self-glorification”. Its launch had been in honour of the president’s development initiatives. On Monday, local media shared images showing the statue in a ruined state, with its severed head lying on the ground. It is not clear who had targeted the sculpture or what the motive was and the police have not commented. The torso also appears to have been destroyed, and only a damaged pedestal remains in place. Akufo-Addo stepped down as president last week after serving two terms in power. His party’s candidate to replace him was heavily defeated in December’s presidential election. The statue had already been partially vandalised last month with one leg being damaged. The statue of the former president was unveiled in NovemberSome local residents had earlier been calling for the sculpture to be removed, but the local authorities had pledged at the time of the initial damage to have it repaired. Its destruction has elicited mixed reactions, with some condemning it while others saying there could have been a better way to deal with it. One resident told local Citi FM outlet that it was “of no benefit to the people, so if it’s destroyed, it’s normal.” Another said this was unfortunate and there should have been a “proper, civil way to get it removed” adding that that the action would have negative consequences for supporters of the former president’s party. Joy FM quoted another resident as saying he was happy it had been destroyed. Last year, critics questioned the use of public funds for its construction, especially at a time the country was facing economic hardship. Ghana has in recent years been experiencing its worst economic crisis in a generation and last year received a $3billion (£2.5bn) bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The cost-of-living crisis was a key campaign issue in last month’s election. President John Mahama, who won the vote in a landslide, has in the past criticised the erection of the statue.He said it was up to the people to honour the former president for his achievements, describing the statue as insensitive given the hardships being faced by the people.

JOHN MAHAMA SWORN IN AS GHANA’S PRESIDENT FOR THIRD TERM AMIDST ECONOMIC CRISIS

Nicolas Adekeye / 6 months

2 min read

John Dramani Mahama was sworn in as Ghana’s president for an unprecedented third term on Tuesday, marking a significant milestone in the country’s history. The ceremony, held at the Independence Square in Accra, was attended by thousands of Ghanaians from all walks of life, as well as dignitaries from across the continent. Mahama, 66, who previously served as president from July 2011 to January 2017, won the presidential election late last year on a promise to tackle Ghana’s worst economic crisis in a generation, corruption, and unemployment. His campaign prioritized the economy and resonated with young Ghanaians who saw the vote as a way out of the crisis. In his address, Mahama acknowledged the challenges facing the country, saying, “There is a seismic shift happening within the system of global economic dominance.” He emphasized the need for regional cooperation, stating, “Now more than ever before, we need to strengthen our ties with our neighbors to ensure that we are working together to keep our sub-region safe.” Mahama’s inauguration marks a new chapter in Ghana’s history, as he prepares to tackle the country’s economic woes and restore stability. His leadership will be closely watched by the international community, as Ghana seeks to regain its footing as a stable democracy and economic powerhouse in West Africa.

TINUBU TO ATTEND GHANA’S JOHN MAHAMA INAUGURATION ON JANUARY 7

Nicolas Adekeye / 6 months

1 min read

Akpo Ojo President Bola Tinubu will depart Lagos on January 6, for Accra, Ghana, to attend the inauguration of President-elect John Mahama taking place on January 7. Tinubu’s visit to Ghana was made known in a statement released on Sunday in Abuja, by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the president on Information and Strategy. President -elect Mahama, who served as the 12th president of Ghana from 2011 – 2017, was re-elected in December 2024. He will succeed incumbent President, Nana Akuffo-Addo. Tinubu’s trip to Accra is at the invitation of the Mahama, who had visited the Nigeria earlier in December, 2024. Mahama and Tinubu have a longstanding personal relationship, just like Nigeria and Ghana maintain a longstanding bilateral relationship. President Tinubu, as the chairman of the ECOWAS will join other African leaders billed to attend the inauguration ceremony. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mrs Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu and other senior government officials will accompany President Tinubu on the trip.

Ghana 2024 Elections, ECOWAS And AES Juntas, By Paul Ejime.

CapitalTimesNews / 7 months
0
7 min read

Ghana has pulled off another feat in democratic consolidation after successfully conducting a ninth round of generally peaceful Presidential and Parliamentary Elections. While democratic elections have become a norm in the country, the 2024 General Elections were distinct in various aspects that challenged the resilience of democracy, yet, Ghanaians rose to the occasion Forty-eight hours after the poll, the Electoral Commission (EC) announced processed results from 267 out of 276 constituencies, and declared former President John Dramani Mahama, candidate of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), as the winner and President-elect with 56.55% of the votes against 40.61% scored by the out-going Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, the presidential fag-bearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP). Indeed, less than 24 hours from the close of balloting, Vice President Bawumia had telephoned President-elect Mahama to concede defeat.Also, following the declaration of the official results by EC, out-going President Nana Akufo-Addo congratulated Mahama on “his decisive victory” and invited him to a meeting to initiate the transition process. There was no rocket science to it, but a matter of political actors respecting the will of the people. The two dominant political parties had agents in almost all the more than 40,000 polling stations, who monitored process and relayed polling results to their party data system for parallel vote collation/tabulation. Like in most elections, the run-up to Ghana 2024 was not without political tension, misinformation, disinformation, fake news and hate speech, culminating in violent incidents in some Regions/Districts, with at least one or two reported deaths and injuries. Even after the results of the presidential race were announced, shootings, looting and destruction of public and private properties were still reported in some volatile regions. Police reported some arrests and promised prosecution of culprits. Similar post-election violence is not uncommon in Ghana, but it reached a crescendo in the 2020 elections when eight people were killed. Some critics believe that the “unsatisfactory” handling of the 2020 election killings and the lack of public confidence in some public institutions, might have contributed to the government’s defeat at the poll. The other factors include economic hardship, allegations of official corruption, nepotism and “political arrogance” exhibited by some public officials. Also, artisanal illegal gold mining, locally called “galamsey,” and its negative environmental consequences (including degradation of water bodies and destruction of forest reserves) have become a major political issue, with the two major political parties trading allegations over complicity. Equally concerning were the menace of violent extremism and vigilantism or the use of thugs/private security agents by politicians, despite the existence of the Anti-Vigilantism and Related Offences Act 999 of 1999. The combined effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused severe economic disruptions across the globe, currency fluctuation and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has impacted food security for many African countries, have left the Ghanaian economy reeling out of control amid high inflation and unemployment, especially among the youth. Also, the country’s debt crisis and engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for economic recovery might have played a significant role in the outcome of the elections. Akufo-Addo and Mahama, who will become Ghana’s 13th President since the country’s independence from Britain in 1957, have now locked horns in four presidential battles with both emerging victorious on two occasions – (2012 and 2024 Mahama) and (2016 and 2020 Akufo-Addo). The 2020 race produced a hung parliament with the two dominant parties having an equal number of MPs in parliament, and the opposition NDC producing the parliamentary Speaker for the first time in the country’s political history. The decision by four MPs to quit their parties and the Supreme Court’s order stopping the Speaker from declaring the MPs’ seats vacant had aggravated the political tension.Ghana has 24 registered political parties. Thirteen (13) fielded presidential candidates, while fifteen (15) had candidates for the parliamentary elections, complemented by independents. Nonetheless, the ruling NPP and the opposition NDC remain the dominant parties, alternating control of political power three times in 32 years (2000, 2008 and 2016) and now in 2024. According to the EC, 900,000 new eligible voters were added to the national voter’s register in 2024 bringing the total to 18,774.159 (15% higher than in 2020), in an estimated national population of 34.42 million. In a marked departure from tradition, the 2024 political campaigns were more of a door-to-door affair than public rallies. The NDC’s stronghold is the Volta Region and parts of the North and Muslim community, while the NPP draws its majority following from the Akan ethnic group, mainly from the Ashanti and other Southern Regions. Religion is not overly contentious in Ghana, but the 2024 poll tested the country’s religious tolerance. It was the first time in Ghana’s history that two candidates from the two major political parties, professing different faiths came from the same region, the North. Mahama is Christian and Bawumia a Muslim. In the end, Mahama recorded a sweeping victory with a more than 1.5 million majority vote margin, the highest since 1992. There is no perfect election. However, Ghana has demonstrated that an electoral process, which is a multi-stakeholder responsibility is integral to the entrenchment of democratic culture, nurtured by strong and resilient institutions. As the icing on the cake, Ghana, for the first time, also has its first elected female Vice President, Prof Nana Opoku-Agyemang, Mahama’s running mate in the 2024 elections. Local and international election observers, including from ECOWAS, the African Union and the Commonwealth, and civil society organisations, were unanimous in their positive assessment of the outcome of Ghana’s latest elections, the professionalism of most actors, and the transparency of the electoral process bar the isolated violent incidents, which they captured in their reports with recommendations particularly on collation and results management for the relevant authorities to address. Incidentally, the ECOWAS Election Observation Mission to Ghana was led by Nigeria’s former Vice President Namadi Sambo, while the West African Elders’ Forum was headed by his boss, former President Goodluck Jonathan. The fact that President Jonathan, with Sambo as his

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NIGERIA WINS JOLLOF DERBY, BOOKS PLACE IN UNITY CUP FINAL

STATUE OF EX-GHANA PRESIDENT AKUFO-ADDO DESTROYED

JOHN MAHAMA SWORN IN AS GHANA’S PRESIDENT FOR THIRD TERM AMIDST ECONOMIC CRISIS

TINUBU TO ATTEND GHANA’S JOHN MAHAMA INAUGURATION ON JANUARY 7

Ghana 2024 Elections, ECOWAS And AES Juntas, By Paul Ejime.

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