Mr. Portuphy, who described the development as an attempt by the government to scare them, said the party would remain defiant despite the arrest of one of their top officials.

“They arresting the Deputy General Secretary of our party is not right, but they cannot scare anybody. We will go and listen to them, they said they want him. He works for us, don’t worry we will go,” he said in a Citi News interview on Tuesday.

[contextly_sidebar id=”exeXCwe45PiDvm2liBHAz30LckklXqCc”]Mr. Anyidoho had, in an interview on Accra-based Happy FM, indicated that President Akufo-Addo will be overthrown because of the ratification of the controversial defence cooperation agreement between Ghana and the US.

The deal was ratified by Parliament despite the resistance of some sections of the public which, according to Anyidoho, will spark a “social revolution” in the country.

“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 diarrhea. He said he wanted to be president, but we will make sure he will be fed up on the seat,’’ he added.

Anyidoho has since been widely condemned for the comments.

He was subsequently picked up by the CID at the International Press Centre in Accra on Tuesday during a press conference by a group of opposition political parties known as the Inter-Party Coalition for National Sovereignty, who are kicking against the Ghana-US Defence Cooperation agreement ratified by Parliament last Friday.

Several stalwarts of the NDC stormed the premises of the CID over his detention.

They included former National Security Coordinator, Kofi Totobi Kwakye, former Deputy Minister of Communications, Felix Ofosu-Kwakye and former Deputy Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Baba Jamal, among others.

‘Reckless, amateurish’

The governing New Patriotic Party [NPP], also described as reckless and amateurish Koku Anyidoho’s comment.

“The NPP as a party unreservedly condemns this reckless, amateurish, and misguided statement from Mr. Anyidoho, especially judging from his background as a former presidential spokesperson for former President John Evans Atta Mills, who was hailed by all as a peace-loving personality,” a statement signed by National Youth Organizer of the NPP, Sammy Awuku said.

Security agencies must be on alert

The statement from the NPP also urged the security agencies to be on alert to avert any attempt to destabilize the country.

“We call on the security agencies to be on the alert because there is no smoke without fire. The police should invite Mr. Anyidoho over his treasonable comments and inciting Ghanaians to forcibly remove a democratically elected government,” the statement added.

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

The post ‘They can’t scare us’ – Portuphy responds to Anyidoho’s ‘arrest’ appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The party had hinted of this move in recent months, with Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the party, Ade Coker, announcing the party’s intention during the party’s unity walk.

[contextly_sidebar id=”NkURVrpivXlbe7hvvjxY4rl1fPXG3Wlb”]Addressing the media on Tuesday, the party’s National Chairman, Kofi Portuphy, stated that the National Executive Committee had unanimously agreed to scrap the register as it was deemed not credible enough.

He also suggested that, recommendations made by the Kwesi Botchwey Committee, which was set up to probe NDC’s loss in the 2016 elections, had factored into the decision as well.

“In line with the wishes of the majority of the members of the National Democratic Congress, and in the wake of recommendations made by the election review committee chaired by Dr. Kwesi Botchwey, the National Executive Committee, which is the highest decision-making body after Congress, voted unanimously for the scrapping of the register which was used to conduct our internal elections last year,” Kofi Portuphy said.

“The register, which was meant to be a biometric one, did not meet the standards required to make it qualified to be a biometric register. NEC has decided that we should adopt a manual process of capturing the names of members at all branches nationwide.”

Portuphy stated that, the registration would take place “between November and December [of 2017]” which would be followed by “branch elections in the last week of January 2018”

The NDC, prior to the election in 2016, commenced the registration of its members through a biometric system targeting to capture about 1.5 million members of the party.

Despite the fact that it was only put together in 2016, several members of the opposition party have blamed breaches in the biometric register for the party’s embarrassing loss in last year’s polls.

There were complaints that some non-NDC members took advantage of the biometric registration to be captured on the NDC’s voter’s database.

According to the party, it arrived at the decision because the old register which was generated through a biometric system, was found not to be credible enough.

Kofi Portuphy stated that, the registration process would take place at the various local branches of the party, which he explained, would ensure that only genuine members of the NDC are registered.

“What we are doing now is intended to restore the integrity of our register, and will become the basis for the creation of a biometric register. This process would have to be supported by everybody in the party. You have to go back to your roots and register at a polling station at your branch office for the branch to recognize that you are a member. It is meant for only members of the National Democratic Congress,” he stated.

The Party also announced that it will hold its constituency elections from the 24th to the 25th of March 2018, and regional elections on the 9th and 10th of June.

Plans are also in place for the party to hold a National Congress to elect its national executives from the 27th to the 29th of July 2018.

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By: Fred Djabanor & Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post NDC scraps biometric register, will register members manually appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Addressing a press conference in Accra Thursday, National Chairman of the NDC, Mr Kofi Portuphy said crime was being committed with “brazen bravado across the length and breadth of the country and that the state of insecurity has given rise to fear filled anxiety among innocent Ghanaians who are struggling under excruciating and suffocating economy.”

He said “armed robbers and armed gangs are now operating with impunity and killing our policemen in broad day light without any form of fear and nor trepidation. For the first time in the 4th Republican dispensation, a political party in the shape of the NPP has incorporated militancy and violent extremism into its way of operations.”

“To give meaning to militancy and violence, a group of brigands and outright criminals have been assembled and given such blood clotting names as Invincible Forces, Delta Forces, Kandaha Boys, Volta Crocodiles and also given official covering from the seat of government to perpetuate their illegal existence, ” Mr Portuphy said.

He added that “these criminal gangs have been allowed to wage a psychological war on the security apparatus by attacking and openly killing policemen in uniform.”

“Very credible intelligence information reaching us [NDC] has it that a lot of the armed robbery and killing of hard working police officers is being done by some elements belonging to the aforementioned militant goons, squads associated with the NPP.”

The national chairman who was addressing the press conference in reaction to Tuesday’s Media Encounter by President Akufo-Addo said: “Per the information we [NDC] are getting, these criminals are very much aware that they have full government backing and that in the event that they are even arrested by the police, they will be released by their political godfathers.”

Mr Portuphy mentioned the Kumasi incident with the Delta Forces where he said, “criminals who beat up the Regional Security Coordinator and also roughed up a Circuit Court judge and disrupted court proceedings were released.”

–

Source: Graphic Online

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According to him, the NPP after it assumed office in January, had forced several professional public servants to resign in order to fill their positions with party loyalists.

[contextly_sidebar id=”aI1CbGSvUAfG7hBJkSIN3mb27W68K1HN”]“Since the assumption of office, the Akufo-Addo administration has forced several professional public servants out of their offices, and replaced them with loyalist party members… A typical example is the manner in which the governor of the Bank of Ghana has been prevented from completing his term of office and has been forced to resign prematurely,” said.

The Central Bank Governor, Dr. Abdul Nashiru Issahaku, resigned from his post in March, citing personal reasons for the move.

He had served as governor for barely a year, after taking over from his predecessor, Dr. Henry Wampah, who also resigned in April 2016. Barely a day after his resignation, his replacement was announced.

Some industry players had said they suspected there was more to the resignation yet could not give details.

But addressing the press on happenings in the country after 3 months of the Nana Addo administration, the NDC Chairman was emphatic, that the governor was forced to resign by the incumbent government, as part of efforts to remove heads of various government institutions who worked under the Mahama government.

The NDC Member of Parliament for the Keta Constituency, had also in a recent interview on Eyewitness News, alleged that the Governor was forced to resign by the new government.

NDC blasts clergy, CSOs for ‘silence’ on post-election violence 

Kofi Portuphy also at the press conference, chastised Civil Society Organizations and Clergy for not publicly condemning post-election violence it alleged were carried out by pro-NPP groups.

According to him, these groups hitherto “found it necessary to condemn every action of the previous NDC government” but have been silent in the past months.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Akufo-Addo gov’t forced BoG governor to resign – Portuphy appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The President who handed over power peacefully to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo last Saturday spent his time networking and deliberating with the MPs — both old and new ones.

Spent my Thursday afternoon with the NDC Caucus in Parliament. Great atmosphere, frank discussions and networking.
#NDC #Ghana pic.twitter.com/UWLHfhaAPI

— John Dramani Mahama (@JDMahama) January 12, 2017

The General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, NDC National Chairman, Kofi Portuphy as well as former Speaker of Parliament, Edward Doe Adjaho and former Chief of Staff were all at the place.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

Photo credit: Office of John Mahama

The post Mahama spends time with Minority MPs [Photos] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Five years down the line, I am hearing that same voice from the past. This time by the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Kofi Portuphy on Thursday 15th of December in a media briefing charged members of the party to retaliate and defend themselves if they are attacked by supposed supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), (citifmonline.com).

When Nana Addo made his Man-up comment, he was not in power. He was not in charge of the cohesive machinery of the state. He made the statement off the cuff-at a rally.

The NDC is in power, at least till the 7th of January. It is in power and the Mahama administration is still in charge. This changes the dynamics. One has the best opportunity to direct, charge and command the security forces to clamp down on post-election violence.

Mr. Portuphy’s comments were greeted with loud applause from party executives at the news conference.

This suggests to me the comment “defend yourselves” is a party position. It means the leadership deliberated and accepted it- this is unacceptable.

As much as it is painful to lose an election, you do not also lose your integrity. With the benefit of hindsight, one would have expected Mr. Portuphy to show leadership, whiles emphasizing the role the security agencies play in times like this.

If this statement was coming from a party hack, that could have been excused since hacks are known for a certain degree of recklessness. Rather, the chairman has stepped into that role. Now who can the “neutrals” turn- to for the discipline to be ensured?

A call for self-defence on party supporters, no matter the circumstances has never been a politically wise statement.

Whilst at it, I think it is an opportune time to say to the security services – CAN YOU MAN UP!!!

The last time I checked, there have been no elections in the security services.

Consistently, the security services particularly the Police administration has displayed weak leadership when it comes to political violence. That will be a topic for another article.
–
By: Sammy Darko; a former BBC correspondent for Ghana, Peace and Security analyst, a Lecturer at UPSA and a final year student at the Ghana school of law, Makola.
Email: [email protected]

The post The Umbrella leaks; Portuphy’s call to violence unacceptable [Article] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

National Chairman of the NDC, Kofi Portuphy, on Thursday alleged that some members of the NPP in the wake of Nana Akufo-Addo’s victory vandalized the colourful lights at the water park.

Kofi Portuphy also lamented that, further works on the interchange has come to a standstill because the workers were being attacked by supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) describing it as shameful acts.

“…Shameful attacks on the contractor and workers at the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange popularly known as Dubai have brought the work to a standstill. The pity of it is the destruction of the colourful lights from the water fountain that flows to the admiration of all,” he noted.

But an engineer at the site, Walter Ashong, told Citi News that the facility is intact even though some jubilant NPP supporters besieged the area when Nana Akufo-Addo was declared winner.

“Everything works properly but on the day the elections results were declared by the EC chair, a lot of people who were jubilating came around and were a bit rowdy. So we put everything off. Eventually they entered so we had to calm them down and turn them away. But we put it off because we didn’t want any rowdy reactions.”

He said “we just want things to normalize, put one or two things together and after the handing over from the current government to the next, then we will know how to manage it properly.”

Traders say facility is working

Some traders who Citi News spoke to around the fountain, also confirmed that the facility has been working.

Some of them said they saw it activated earlier on Thursday, December 15, 2016.

The 74 million euros project was inaugurated by President John Mahama in November 2016 amidst a huge fanfare.

The project has among other things three flyovers, a colourful water fountain, library, bus terminal, fire, police and ambulance stations.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey & Akosua Ofewaa Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post ‘Dubai’ fountain lights not faulty – Managers appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Some supporters of the NPP in the wake of their victory in last Wednesday’s polls, reportedly attacked some NDC supporters, vandalized some government installations including portions of the Fountain at the Kwame Nkrumah interchange.

The fountain, which is usually opened for public viewing during the day and night after its inauguration in November  2016, is currently not functioning.

Addressing the press on Thursday, National Chairman of the NDC, Kofi Portuphy, also lamented that further works on the interchange has come to a standstill because the workers were being attacked by NPP supporters and described it as shameful acts.

“…Shameful attacks on the contractor and workers at the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange popularly known as Dubai have brought the work to a standstill. The pity of it is the destruction of the colourful lights from the water fountain that flows to the admiration of all.”

Traders say facility is working

Meanwhile, some traders around the place told Citi News that the facility has been active all these while.

Some of them said it was even activated earlier today, Thursday.

The 74 million euros project was inaugurated by President John Mahama in November 2016 amidst a huge fanfare.

The project has among other things three flyovers, a colourful water fountain, library, bus terminal, fire, police and ambulance stations.

Defend yourselves – NDC charges members

Kofi Portuphy also has charged members of the NDC to defend themselves if they are attacked by NPP supporters.

“I am the leader of the party; I am saying if they attack them they should defend themselves while seeking police protection. They should not fold their hands for the NPP to butcher them to death,” he added.

Despite the claims, the NPP has accused the NDC of exaggerating these reports merely to court public sympathy and also to pain the President-elect, Nana Akufo-Addo as a violent person.

In most of the reported attacks, only few of them are being dealt with by the police. According to the police, some three persons have so far been arrested in the post-election violence cases across the country.

Attacks from NDC members

Meanwhile some angry NDC members disappointed in the party’s defeat, have reportedly been attacking some party executives and defeated MPs, who they blame for the party’s defeat.

A video has gone viral of an angry NDC member who stormed a party office in anger and threatened to beat up one of the national executives of the party.

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

The post NPP supporters have destroyed colourful lights at ‘Dubai’ – NDC appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, despite several calls on the NPP leadership to caution its supporters over such attacks, NDC supporters are still being attacked.

Addressing the press at the NDC headquarters in Accra on Thursday, Mr. Portuphy said the party is running out of patience.

“I am the leader of the party; I am saying if they attack them they should defend themselves while seeking police protection. They should not fold their hands for the NPP to butcher them to death,” he added.

NPP attacks NDC

There have been several reported cases of violence being perpetrated by supposed members of the NPP against some members of the NDC.

The NPP supporters also reportedly have vandalized some government installations and properties as well as illegally taking over some tollbooths and public toilets.

Condemns attacks on Wofa K, Mzbel and others

The NDC Chairman further lamented attacks on some sympathizers of the party including musician Mzbel, actor, Wofa K. as well as the illegal takeover of tollbooths and toilets by NPP supporters.

“The acts of vandalism should be condemned in no uncertain terms. They are criminal acts that must be punished. I wish to reiterate the President’s call on the NPP to continue to restrain its followers and also request the security agencies to act swiftly to stop such incidents before they escalate into mass violence.”

Mr. Kofi Portuphy also used the opportunity to ban party executives from blaming each other in the media over the party’s defeat.

Attacks from NDC members

Meanwhile some angry NDC members disappointed in the party’s defeat, have reportedly been attacking some party executives and defeated MPs, who they blame for the party’s defeat.

A video has gone viral of an angry NDC member who stormed a party office in anger and threatened to beat up one of the national executives of the party.

–

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

The post Defend yourselves – NDC charges members appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

He stated that “ the plant will start operations with about 30 million standard cubits of gas per day and graduate the process” to about 150 million as time goes on.

Mr. Obagmey believes the amount of gas that will be produced by the plant will be “enough to take care” of the power needs of the 10 regions in Ghana.

The Volta River Authority (VRA) on Monday revealed that natural gas from the Atuabo gas plant will not end power rationing in the country.

According to the VRA, Atuabo plant will not necessarily increase the amount of power to be generated.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, Mr. Obagmey stated that though the plant will not transform Ghana’s power generation systems, it will stabilize power production and help reduce cost significantly.

“Of course the gas from Atuabo will not change our power generation capacity. That is a fact and of course there are efforts to increase our power generation capacity. But what nobody can take away or argue is that the gas from Atuabo will at least stabilize our production and help reduce our cost significantly”

The Jubilee Partners have warned against any hasty decision to connect the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant to the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah.

They have also demanded an audit of the facilities at the plant before hooking it up to the production platform to prevent any unexpected accident  that might threaten offshore investment.

Mr. Obagmey justified the decision by Jubilee partners to demand an audit of the plant, describing it as normal and safe.

He further stated that Ghana Gas Company and other companies are “ready and open” to the decision by Jubilee partners to audit the plant.

By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Atuabo to produce 150 million cubits of gas per day appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.