Ruben Enaje, 58, again portrayed Christ on Friday in the traditional religious rite in Cutud village, about 76 km (47 miles) from the capital Manila.

“In the past, I went home injured and limping, but this year I feel so great,” Enaje said after the ritual held under a sweltering sun.

He said he believed his strong Catholic faith helped him avoid pain.

“I feel like he is telling me ‘go ahead, keep it up’,” he said, referring to God.

Easter is a festival marking the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.

About 80 percent of the 105 million people in the Philippines, a former Spanish colony, are Catholic.

Enaje said he felt strong enough to perform in two or three more crucifixions, until he turns 60.

Enaje was among three devotees nailed to wooden crosses in the village on Friday, including a woman taking part for the seventh time.

Actors wearing Roman soldier costumes attached the devotees to crosses by hammering two-inch nails soaked in alcohol through their hands and feet and hoisted them up in a field packed with domestic and foreign tourists.

The Catholic Church in the Philippines tolerates the ritual but says it does not support such gory displays of devotion, describing them as a “misinterpretation of faith”.

Many Catholics in the Philippines perform religious acts of penance during the Holy Week at Easter as a form of worship and supplication.

Some believe penance cleanses sins, cures illnesses and even leads to wishes coming true.

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Source: Reuters

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The items included clothes, stationery, groceries, detergents and sanitary wear, among other things.

The donation formed part of the group’s initiative to put smiles on the faces of the foster children as they celebrated Good Friday.

Presenting the items on behalf of the group, the women commissioner for UPSA GRASAG, Patience Besiree Monfakye, said the move is to fulfill what the Holy Scriptures said about giving alms to the needy.

“As a leader of this group, we believe in giving which the Bible speaks of and putting smiles on the faces of these children as we observe the death of Christ. We know these items will boost their morale and reduce the beggary at various foster homes.”

Miss Besiree Monfankye pledged the group’s continuous support for the foster home to enable the children to realize their full potential and called for the support of corporate bodies to achieve this laudable initiative.

Receiving the items on behalf of Christ Faith Foster Home, Mr. Abraham Danso,  a coordinator at the home, expressed gratitude to UPSA GRASAG for the donation,  and noted that the items will be put to good use.

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By: Philip Nii Lartey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Patrons of this year’s paragliding festival can expect to have a hitch-free experience as organizers have moved to improve on previous experiences.

For instance, all four pilots can now take off at the same time, instead of the usual one-at-a-time take off sessions.

Expansion works have been carried out at the site, more washrooms and pavilions have been constructed, and enough chairs provided for patrons’ comfort.

Ed Stein, a veteran pilot who is the team leader and has been flying patrons since the festival was launched 13 years ago, in an interview with Citi News described the renovated site as the best in the world.

“I am very impressed with the speed of renovation exercise carried out here by the tourism ministry, last year [2017], when I came to fly people, the site was not like this, only a pilot could take off at a time, but with the expansion works here 4 other pilots can all take off at a go, and I must say once again I am really impressed”.

“I can confidently say with my experience at different countries and paragliding sites in the world that the Kwahu site here in Ghana is the best and am looking forward to another exciting experience”.

As patrons troop in from all corners of the country, the Eastern Regional Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Police Service, ASP Ebenezer Tetteh, announced that over 500 hundred personnel from the Ghana Police Service and the military have been deployed to ensure security at Kwahu.

“A combined team of 500 men from both the police and military are on the ground to provide maximum security, we have a strong group from the CTU, FPU and crowd control unit firmly positioned at every vantage points and several plain cloth men and CID are also patrolling 24 hours to ensure visibility here”.

“We are aware certain criminals and individuals would want to take advantage of the occasion to rob people, but we want to assure patrons here we are in control and we will ensure their safety at all times”.

Frederick Rudolph – Adjei, the Eastern Regional Manager of the Ghana Tourism Authority, also indicated that the Ghana Airforce is on standby to airlift patrons in case of an emergency.

“Adequate measures and planning have been instituted to ensure that patrons are served with the best experience this year, we have been improving every year, and we will not stop at maintaining and becoming the best. The Airforce base in Accra is currently on standby to airlift patrons in an emergency, they have been constantly contacting their men stationed here for updates, and we want to assure patrons to feel at home, relax and enjoy the experience”.

The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Catherine Afeku, who was optimistic about the success of the event asked the media to help sell out the site to the rest of the world.

“You are witnesses to the nice edifice we have constructed here, we do not want to enjoy paragliding only during Easter festival so we are putting in a lot of efforts for the training of our Ghanaian pilots. Two of them for the first time flew solo today. The rest of it is on the media to tell all the stories here to the world for all paragliding fans in the world to also come to Ghana to experience this amazing site and feeling in Kwahu”.

She added that, “we have the disease of not managing or maintaining things well, so I am calling on us all to be vigilant and observant to ensure we all keep the site well and maintain it well for it is a collective effort”.

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By: Neil Nii Amatey Kanarku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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In a commemorative message to the nation copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, and signed by the National Chairman, Professor Edmund N. Delle, admonished all to seek God’s guidance in honesty and offer an unpretentious prayer of supplication during the festive period.

[contextly_sidebar id=”LVYMOlChxRIClHC44dgLE4LUOwqYykOm”]He also tasked religious leaders to offer good counselling to political leaders, adding that “you should guide and direct us. We are working together for mankind both spiritually and physically, support us with godly counsel.

“As a nation, we need to move away from practices that threaten to destroy our values of truth and integrity,” stressing that Christ endured suffering for mankind which was very significant during this period and challenged Christians to recognize it during this Easter season.

“Let us show love and friendship to our neighbours, our communities and the disadvantaged. Many of us have spent the last month in a period of fasting, prayer and sober reflection and on Easter Day we will feast and make merry in remembrance of the resurrection of Christ,” Prof Delle stated.

“The CPP extends a hand of warmth to Ghanaians and all peoples of the world as we celebrate a significant period on the Christian calendar.

“We enjoin all celebrants, especially the youth to celebrate in circumspection and moderation to prevent any unfortunate incidents,” he said.

The CPP also called on the motoring public to be extra careful on the road as they drive around,  and to “not rush for money. Lives are precious so drivers kindly take precautions on the road.

“Passengers must also not put pressure on the drives to speed-up, we must all work to eliminate the human tendencies that causes road accidents”.

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Source: GNA

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Delivering his Easter message to Ghanaians on Thursday, the President said Ghana had enough resources to ensure its own development.

According to him, the government has so far worked to harness the resources available to the country to resolve some of its key challenges.

He indicated that the government had plans to ensure that the country’s economy was boosted to enable it compete favourably in the global market.

“We are looking past commodities to position our country in the global market. We’ve determined to flee our people from the mindset of dependence aid, charity and handouts,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo, who has on various national and international platforms emphasized his belief that Ghana, like many other African countries, is endowed with enormous resources to guarantee its growth, said that a government under him is “bent on mobilizing Ghana’s own considerable resources to resolve Ghana’s problems.”

“We are building a Ghana beyond aid. Let us celebrate Easter as a real source of hope that there is a brighter future ahead of us. Let us use this Easter celebration to renew and strengthen our faith in God and be confident that with God’s guidance we can transform our nation and use all the blessings that the Almighty has bestowed on us to bring progress and prosperity to all our people. I wish all Ghanaians a happy Easter” he said.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post We’ll develop Ghana with local resources – Akufo-Addo appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the Service, all regional commanders have been tasked to deploy officers to densely populated events.

Speaking to Citi News, Director-General of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, ACP David Eklu, assured Ghanaians of an incident-free Easter season.

[contextly_sidebar id=”XOBzEQTCk5tKFoKoa5fU2JTEs73FRhHV”]“This year, we are deploying not less than 10,000 police officers across the country to make sure that we give the necessary protection to people who will be celebrating the festival. One of the measures we have done is that all the police regional commanders have been directed to deploy in areas that will require a lot of people. For example, places where people will be holding conventions, Easter festivities, picnics and other activities,” he said.

A number of Ghanaians usually visit Kwahu in the Eastern Region to celebrate the Easter season due to the number of activities that are organized there, such as the Paragliding Festival.

According to ACP Eklu, a team from the Police headquarters in Accra will move to the area on Thursday to provide adequate security for people who will visit Kwahu to celebrate the Easter.

“…We are also deploying a specialized team from the headquarters to Kwahu because of the high interest in Easter celebrations there. Personnel from the specialized unit; SWAT, Formed Police Unit and the other units will be leaving Accra to that place. So we have a comprehensive arrangement to ensure maximum security during the Easter season,” the Police Public Affairs Director-General noted.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

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This is according to a member of his legal team, Chris Ackumey, who told Citi News, there are indications to put Mr. Anyidoho before a magistrate court today, although the court is expected to refuse jurisdiction because of the level of the charge.

Koku Anyidoho has already spent two nights in the custody of the BNI after he was arrested at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon for making comments deemed treasonable.

Mr. Anyidoho in an interview in an interview on Accra-based Happy FM earlier this week said President Nana Akufo-Addo will be overthrown because of the ratification of the controversial defence cooperation agreement between Ghana and the US.

He said the overthrow will be in the form of a “civilian coup d’etat”.

“There will be a civilian coup d’état. There will be a social revolution. We [NDC] are starting it on Wednesday. The movement is starting on Wednesday. Nana Addo will have sleepless nights. He will suffer diarrhoea. He said he wanted to be President, but we will make sure he will be fed up on the seat,” he said.

Following his arrest, a search was conducted in his home supposedly for evidence of a planned coup.

He has since been charged with treason and has been denied bail.

Chris Ackumey believes the state is up to some mischief in the manner in which it is handling the case

“The magistrate court will decline jurisdiction because they cannot handle cases involving high treason. And they will use that as a basis to keep him for Easter but I pray it does not happen.”

1. Meanwhile, former President John Dramani Mahama and a former Chief of Staff, Julius Deborah, visited the Koku Anyidoho at the Headquarters of the Bureau for National Investigations (BNI) on Wednesday to solidarize with him.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The suspects include persons who were nabbed for rape, theft, and impersonation.

According to the Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Police Service, Superitendent Cephas Arthur, security was intensified in the area this year to avert crime.

“Comparatively, this year was an improvement upon last year, even though last year was hugely successful.”

“We recorded 6 cases of stealing; we had one case of impersonation, where someone was found wearing a military uniform when in fact he wasn’t a military officer or a soldier. [We had] one alleged case of rape.

SP Cephas Arthur added that one of the suspects is still at large and is yet to be arrested.

“In all these cases, all the perpetrators of these crimes were arrested, in the exception of one.  The moment they committed the crime, there were police officers on hand to effect an arrest. About 450 police officers were available but a few more were added so [we had] about 500 officers [there].”

The Easter festivities every year has been characterized by pockets of criminal incidents in various parts of the country especially at Kwahu in the Eastern Region, where various activities are held to celebrate the season.

The Public Relations Officer of the Accra Regional Police Command, ASP Effia Tenge, had earlier told Citi News that a combined team of Police and Military personnel would be deployed to maintain law and order during the festivities at various public places.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor

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In his Easter message on his Facebook page, Dr. Nduom said Ghanaians are tired of listening and reading about messages of hope from leaders at the helm of affairs, amidst diverse challenges.

[contextly_sidebar id=”Y5XTRymndlMzKwxLVIoaNte40Gr4mEI4″]“Some words will be repeated all over the world by religious leaders, politicians, friends and family – new beginning, renewal, fresh start, etc. Some nations will be asked to give peace a chance. People will be asked to give a little to feed the poor. In Kwahu, some people will just want to give fun another chance, and will try very hard to play hard all in the name of Easter.

“But the people are tired of listening to and reading about hope when we face senseless deaths on our roads, in our hospitals and homes; when politically clothed groups act with impunity; and when our farms and rivers are destroyed. All we need  are a few doers to right our wrongs, fix our problems and lead us to the light of the new dawn.”

His comments come a day after President Nana Addo, delivered his Easter message in which he among others asked Ghanaians to remain steadfast in his ambitious vision of prosperity for the country.

The President reiterated that, his vision is to make Ghana rise above reliance on foreign aid, 6o years after independence.

“I have put before you, the Ghanaian people, the most ambitious programme of social and economic transformation of any government in the history of the Fourth Republic, if not in our entire history,” the President said in a message on his Facebook page.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The personnel will be situated at some public centers and security installations to guarantee public safety and security.

Speaking to Citi News, the Public Relations Officer of the Accra Regional Police Command, ASP Effia Tenge, said enough preparations have been made to ensure public safety.

“The Police is concerned about security at festivities of this nature and as such we have drawn up security strategies to handle the festivities. Talking about police presence, we have deployed, per our strategy, police personnel to certain areas that we feel need police attention. Some vital installations that we believe we need to provide security for would have it.”

“Churches where we have a lot of religious people going about their religious activities; conventions and all, we also have to look at the gathering places especially the malls, entertainment centers; we are joining our forces with military.”

The Easter festivities every year has been characterized by pockets of incidents in various parts of the country especially at Kwahu in the Eastern Region, where various activities are held to celebrate the season.

But the police have given assurances this year that it will ensure that such incidents are averted.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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