General News
Peace Council steps in to resolve Agyinasare-Nogokpo dispute
The National Peace Council (NPC) mission, led by His Eminence Numo Blafo Akotia Omaetu III, a member of the council’s governing board, met with the Chiefs and Elders of the Somey Traditional Area.
Torgbi Adamah III, Paramount Chief of the Somey Traditional Area, presided over the meeting to discuss the controversy surrounding comments made by Archbishop Charles Agyinasare, founder and general overseer of the Perez Chapel International, and how best to address the issue in the interest of peace and unity.
During a conference at Accra’s Perez auditorium, the Archbishop labelled Nogokpo as the “demonic headquarters of the Volta Region.”
His remarks outraged the residents of Nogokpo and the greater Volta area, prompting some to criticise the revered cleric on various social media channels.
The town’s leaders and elders gave the Archbishop a two-week deadline to remove his views and apologise to the people.
The deadline has gone passed.
Following the meeting, Torgbi Adamah told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that both the Peace Council and the Somey Traditional Council had agreed to handle the problem peacefully.
“We have communicated our position to the Peace Council, and have tasked the council to communicate that position to the Archbishop. The Somey Traditional Council is giving the Archbishop a week’s ultimatum to withdraw the controversial comment and render an unqualified apology to the people of Nogokpo, the Somey Traditional Area and the entire Volta region.
Torgbi Adamah stated that the Traditional Council had instructed its attorneys to inform the Archbishop of the council’s decision and position.
He stressed that the one-week deadline would begin when the Archbishop got the letter from the traditional council’s attorneys.
He stated that if the Archbishop does not comply with the traditional council’s request for an apology, “the Somey Traditional Council would advise itself accordingly.”
The Volta region’s inhabitants have traditionally had a bad reputation, according to the Paramount Chief.
“This should not have been an issue, but the fact that the people of the region have over the years been perceived as bad people, affecting our marriages to other tribes and job opportunities, the Archbishop should not have uttered those comments in the first place.
He is a renowned and seasoned man of God who should be unifying people rather than dividing them. He must apologise to put this situation behind him – we are not pleased at all.” Torgbi Adamah explained.
Numo Blafo Akotia Omaetu III expressed gratitude to the Somey Traditional Council for the warm welcome and understanding.
He reaffirmed the Peace Council’s commitment to resolving the problem peacefully in the sake of harmony and peaceful coexistence.
The meeting was attended by members of the Volta Regional Peace Council, including its Chairman, Rev. Seth Kwesi Mawutor.
A terrible accident occurred at the base of Galenkui Mountain in Ho, claiming the lives of nine people, including babies.
The terrifying occurrence occurred as a 207 Benz was transporting goods and passengers from Abotoase to Sogakofe.
The car encountered brake failure while descending the mountain, culminating in a collision with a Zoomlion garbage truck.
Initial reports verified seven fatalities at the disaster scene, including newborns and children.
Following that, Mary Dzifa, a nurse at Ho Municipal Hospital, informed Citi News that roughly ten children had died in the disaster.
“I was at our facility yesterday, November 22, when a car rushed in with dead and injured children and injured adults, especially men. Some were attended to at the facility, and the rest who were severely injured were taken to the Ho Teaching Hospital. The dead children will be about 10.”
Officials at the Ho Teaching Hospital said that 32 people were admitted for injuries incurred, with 9 dying as a result of their injuries.
Amos Jah, the Public Relations Officer of Ho Teaching Hospital, said that the injured patients are receiving medical attention and making progress in their rehabilitation.
“I received a call from a friend yesterday who was going back to town and that he saw the accident, so I quickly informed the nurses to be on alert. Some were brought in with pickups, ambulance, tricycles; the situation was very bad, some had broken limbs, some heads almost being severed, some were bleeding from all parts of the body. After two hours, we were able to calm the situation down.”
“We had a total of 30 accident victims brought here. Two others were brought from the Municipal Hospital this morning, making it 32 in all. My information is that we lost 9 of them, 4 are kids and 5 are adults. For the kids, three were brought in dead. Those injured are responding to treatment.”
Dr Adam Bonaa, a security expert, has requested the Oti Regional Minister to restrict all public events in Nkwanta in response to the riots that have taken eight lives.
The fights, in his opinion, were avoidable.
“The Regional Minister and his men must make certain that this never happens again.” This was avoidable, yet 8 people died as a result,” he remarked on TV3’s Ghana Tonight on Tuesday, November 21.
He further suggested that “It is important to suspend all public activities that are likely to take place by the two factions, this is the surest way of letting them know that there is an authority within Nkwanta and the region.”
The Oti Regional Security Council (REGSEC) will host an emergency security meeting today, Wednesday, November 22, in response to the Nkwanta riots.
Regional Minister Joshua Gmayenaam Makubu, appearing on the Ghana Tonight show on TV3 on Tuesday, November 21, verified the number of dead and described the pandemonium as “ethnic clashes.”
“Tomorrow we are going to have an emergency security meeting again, ” he further said.
He also disclosed that there had been conflicts in town two weeks earlier between members of two tribes, Adele and Akyode.
Following the conflicts, the Minister of the Interior, Ambrose Dery, acted on the advice of the REGSEC and via Executive Instrument to impose a curfew on Nkwanta township.
The curfew will be in force from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 21.
On Tuesday, November 21, an attacker opened fire in the town’s central market area.
Several people have been murdered and others have been injured as a result of the incident.
The Oti Regional Security Council dispatched officers to the region to handle the situation.
“Government wishes to appeal to all to exercise restraint and to use the established mechanisms for the resolution of all their conflicts and disputes.
“Meanwhile, the Government will like to reiterate that, there is a ban on all persons in Nkwanta Township and its environs from carrying arms, ammunition or any offensive weapons and any persons found with any arms or ammunition will be arrested and prosecuted,” the Minister said.
Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, has categorically rejected selling his official house to a private developer.
He then stated that his home was “almost sold” to a private developer.
The Speaker of Parliament recently revealed that his Accra home was sold to a private developer while he was still living there.
He said this only came to light when the developer went to the Lands Commission to register the land on Monday at the Speaker’s Breakfast Forum in Accra.
However, the Lands Commission claimed in a statement that “at no time did the Lands Commission sell the said property to a private developer.”
In a recent meeting with civil society organisations, the Speaker emphasised that his official house was on the verge of being turned over to a developer except for the intervention of the Lands Commission.
“I didn’t say my residence was sold. That was not what I said. This was just a comment in passing when I said it was almost sold but luckily, I was in possession. And I said it was when they went to Lands Commission that they realised from the search that it was the residence of the Speaker,” Alban Bagbin clarified.
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