The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ghana

  • Aregbesola delivers lecture in Ghana

    Aregbesola delivers lecture in Ghana

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola will deliver the 2016 Emancipation Day lecture in Cape Coast, Ghana on Friday.

    The lecture: “Emancipation: Our strength, Our Heritage”, is part of the three-day Emancipation Day celebration in Accra and Cape Coast, Ghana.

    According to the organisers, Aregbesola was chosen to deliver the lecture for his ‘doggedness as a pan-Africanist, outstanding political leader and promoter of the African culture.

    The 2016 Emancipation Day programme celebrates and honors efforts of great pan-Africanists and abolitionists, who worked for the emancipation of the black race.

    Distinguished Africans, eminent personalities, women as well as youth leaders, businessmen, policy makers and tourists would witness the event.

  • Ooni honours Nkrumah in Ghana

    Ooni honours Nkrumah in Ghana

    The Ooni of Ife,  Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi (Ojaja II), at the weekend planted a tree of honour in remembrance of Ghana’s first President Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, who he described as a hero of African unity and emancipation.

    It was part of activities marking his four-day royal visit to the West African country on the invitation of President John Mahama.

    The tree planting  was performed by the Ooni in company of his queen, Wuraola and some notable traditional rulers at the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park (KNMP)  downtown Accra.

    The monarch urged the leaders and Africans to always remember the former President not just as a politician but also as a great Pan-Africanist, who dedicated his life to the liberation of Ghana and total emancipation of Africans.

    “Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah should always be remembered by all of us in Africa not just because he was a politician or president but more importantly because of his outstanding campaign to liberate this country then called Gold Coast from the colonial rule in 1957.

    “This great man was also a Pan-Africanist, who dedicated his whole life to the total emancipation of the entire Africa and that’s why my being here today is so much important to me and my delegation of peace and unity,” Ooni Ogunwusi said.

    Nkrumah was overthrown by the military in 1966, nine years after he led his country to freedom in 1957.

    He was subsequently exiled in Guinea Conakry, where he lived till his death in 1972, while receiving medical treatment at a hospital in Bucharest, Romania.

    The monarch’s delegation includes Yoruba traditional rulers like Aseyin of Iseyin Oba Abduganiy Adekunle Oloogunebi, Jegun of Okitipupa Oba  Adetoye Obatuga, Elerinmo of Erinmo-Ijesa Oba  Odunayo Ajayi and Alayemore of Ido-Osun Oba Adedapo Aderemi, the Arode of Ife Chief Johnson Awe and Akogun of Ife Chief Muritala Adedoyin.

  • African marketing communication professionals gather for Maxim Festival

    Marketing, advertising and media industry professionals are expected to gather at in Accra, Ghana for a training and motivational discourse organised by Maxim Festival.

    The festival, according to the organiser, is premised around planned and documented growth of business, need for services to support this growth specifically in the continents marketing communication industry.

    In a release to The Nation, the Maxim Festival officials said rewards will be given to celebrate the great accomplishments already achieved by players, though noted that the differentiation and focus of Maxim Festival is around the training and inspiration to succeed.

    “A full day of inspirational talks on issues such as content in Africa, the Digital future of communication, modern business re-invention is an opportunity to consider new options to achieve personal and business success. The event is culminated with an exhibition of award winning short listed entries as well as exposure to selected leading Industry enthusiasts which will showcase their offering and allow for further networking opportunities. This is followed by an evening awards ceremony where the best work across 11 core categories will be recognized and ending off in celebration at the after party,” the statement reads.

    The organiser also stated that Maxim festival has been devised through experiences gained at attending Awards Festivals internationally and also through work and personal experiences in Africa by a wide group of Industry experienced professionals.

    “Maxim’s mantra is ‘Inspire, Educate and Reward’, with the key aim being to empower Africa to compete more effectively with the rest of the world. The attendees will be exposed to both local and global insights as well as the best creative work and most inspiring media and marketing strategies on the continent,” the statement reads.

    However, with the ever-changing and constantly developing media and digital landscape the organiser said: “this insight is important not only for the ad and media industries but for Clients as well.”

    Meanwhile, the regional West Africa Festival will be held in Ghana, Accra over a 3 day period: 23 – 25 November 2016. The regional East Africa event will take place early 2017.

    Maxim Festival is an enhancement and addition to existing in-country and International Festivals and goes beyond just rewarding great work or showcasing great work – its vision is to train and inspire people in terms of creating their own skill set to create great work.

  • Dangote jobs to stimulate Ghana’s economy

    Dangote jobs to stimulate Ghana’s economy

    Dangote Cement Ghana said it has procured 1, 000 brand-new-trucks to facilitate the distribution of cement products to all parts of Ghana. The trucks, which came in three different vessels, arrived at the shores of Tema Port, last week.

    The company’s Media Relations Manager, Mr. Etornam Komla, who made this known to Reuters, said the company has commenced the process of recruitment of drivers, truck driver assistants and loaders, adding that by the end of July, all the drivers will be on board.

    He said the recruitment was part of the company’s objective of contributing to Ghana’s economic growth through job creation and honoring tax obligations.

    “These are components of the company’s mission in Ghana, which is to stimulate its economy,” Komla said.

    He said the company has also invested over $100 million in the construction of a new plant in Takoradi in the Western region. The plant, which will be a state of the art modern cement grinding plant, will have the capacity to produce about 1.5 million tonnes of cement per annum.

    “This project when completed will further cement the presence of Dangote Cement business in Ghana and is a further proof of our commitment to the infrastructural development of the country and will also enable us to meet the growing demands across other countries in West Africa” he explained.

    Although cement manufacturing remains the flagship of Dangote group’s businesses, the President of the group Alhaji Aliko Dangote has also made foray into oil and gas, investing in a petrochemical, refinery and fertiliser plant in Nigeria.  The petrochemical complex where these plants are being built occupies a land mass in excess of 2,100 hectares. The projects will cost in excess of $12 billion. The oil refinery has a capacity of 650, 000 barrels per day and over 3,000,000 ammonia and urea plants.

    Dangote told Reuters that these businesses will be ready between 2018 and 2019.

    The company also plans to build a 550 Kilometre Gas Pipeline across Nigeria and into West Africa.

  • Ramadan festivities: Nine die in stampede

    Ramadan festivities: Nine die in stampede

    At least nine people died in Ghana on Thursday during a stampede at festivities celebrating the end of Ramadan in Kumasi, the country’s second-largest city, local minister Mubarak Muntaka said.

    Survivors said the panic broke out at about 2 am after electricity was cut to the venue, some 280 kilometres north of the capital Accra.

    Muntaka said that organisers of the gathering flouted security orders to end a carnival for the Muslim holiday Eid-al-Fitr, when they relocated several kilometres away to the city’s Asawase community centre.

    Witnesses said several people fell and were trampled on as others tried to escape the overcrowded venue through a small exit.

    Up to 300 people had been at the community centre at the time of the stampede, eyewitness Charles Amoah Boateng, told the Accra-based radio station citifm.

    Muntaka quoted people at the venue blaming the panic on a fight between two groups.

    Police said they were investigating the incident.

  • World Cup draws: Nigeria land in Pot three

    World Cup draws: Nigeria land in Pot three

    Nigeria could face Algeria, Cote d’ Ivoire, Tunisia or Cameroon in a tough 2018 World Cup qualifying group after the Super Eagles was drawn in Pot 3 on Sunday.

    The draw for the World Cup qualifiers will be staged in Cairo, Egypt, on June 24.

    Egypt, Algeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Senegal were drawn in Pot 1, africanFootball.com reports.

    Tunisia, Cape Verde, DR Congo, Guinea and Cameroon were placed in Pot 2.

    Nigeria was dawn in Pot 3 with Congo Brazzaville, Morocco, Mali and South Africa, meaning these teams will avoid themselves in the qualifiers to be played in a mini-league format from October to November 2017.

    The 20 remaining teams from Africa will be divided into five groups of four teams with the winners of each group qualifying for Russia 2018.

    Nigeria is seeking to qualify for a sixth World Cup after featuring in the 1994, 1998, 2002, 2010 and 2014 editions of the tournament.

  • Lagos APC celebrates as Lagos hits oil

    Lagos APC celebrates as Lagos hits oil

    With joy unspeakable full of glories and thanksgiving, Lagos APC joins millions of Lagosians to celebrate the emergence of oil in the land of aquatic splendor, and limitless opportunities.

    In a release signed by State Publicity Secretary Mr. Joe Igbokwe the Party says the long wait to join the club of oil producers in Nigeria has become a reality today Monday May 16 2016 and this is official.

    “ At a time Nigeria is being held hostage, with multi billion worth of our oil and gas facilities being blown up left and right with reckless abandon, turning the whole country into total darkness and causing the country to lose 800,000 barrels of crude oil daily, it is good news to have Lagos, the land of civilization to join the club of oil producing States”

    ” in the fullness of time we know that the wise and civilized Lagosians will never behave primitively like the economic saboteurs from the Niger Delta who militarize their environment, destroy oil and gas installations,put Nigeria in total darkness, destroy their environment, pollute their lands and waters, hurt their 13% derivation,and  render their own people jobless”

    “ Lagos economy has been on the rise since 1999, competing effectively with many countries in Africa including Cameroun, Ghana, Senegal, Cote’de voire and with the advent of oil fields in Lagos, we have no doubt that it will grow far bigger than these countries in few years to come”

    “This monumental achievement in Lagos has left a huge lesson that God has not finished with Nigeria as oil or gold can be found in any part of Nigeria irrespective of tribe, tongue, culture or tradition”

    “ Coming at a time when Lagos has recorded even a surplus in Revenue generation in the first quarter of 2016 , Lagos APC believes that His Excellency Governor Akinwunmi Ambode will leave an indelible mark, the type never seen in the history of Lagos.”

  • Nigeria to beat Ghana, Ivory Coast on Cocoa export

    Nigeria to beat Ghana, Ivory Coast on Cocoa export

    The Federal Government has set a new target to beat Ghana and Ivory Coast in terms of cocoa exports from the country.

    Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, stated at the weekend during a meeting with officials of Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN)‎, in Abuja that the ministry has already developed new cocoa breeds capable of beating the two nations.

    The Minister, who said oil and gas cannot create 1 million jobs for unemployed Nigerians, disclosed that the agriculture sector could engage about 20 million people, across the entire agricultural value chain.

    He wondered why the country still lacks behind the two African nations, despite enormous potentials to grow the economy crop in 23 states across the nation.

    “Nigeria needs to surpass Ghana and Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast is targeting 2 million tons now. Ghanah is a bit lower than a million, we are battling at 250, 000 tons and Cocoa can grow in at least 23 states. What happened to us? Oil and Gas,” Ogbe said.

    However, the Minister instructed the Ag. Executive Director of the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Dr. Mrs. Feyisara Okelana to prepare intensive implementation plan to ensure government achieve the new target.

    Ogbeh emphasized, “Nigeria needs CRIN badly”, adding that the research institute should design a roadmap to restore coffee plantation.

    “There is no future in imports. We will find money to support you. When you produce, package it like every other package.”

    According to him, global market for coffee trade is about $70 billion while $5 billion of the market share could go to the local farmers as profit.

    On 572 staffs of the institute that were denied of their salaries and 91 sacked by the institute human resource department, the Minister directed the ministry’s Director of Human Resources, Mrs. Bunmi Shobowale to rectify the payment issues as well as work with CRIN to reabsorb the staff.

  • Rangers cancel Ghana trip

    Rangers cancel Ghana trip

    •Donate to Motherless Babies Home in Enugu

    Enugu Rangers have elected to remain in the country and continue their preparation for the first league match of the season against Kano Pillars away than travelling to Ghana where they were supposed to play a friendly match against Ebusua Dwarfs, a newly promoted Ghana Premier League side.

    The Flying Antelopes were told to fend for their transportation to and from Ghana and other minor logistics while the hosts are to provide for their lodging, feeding and little allowance at the end of the match.

    The Board Members of the club met over the weekend to deliberate on the trip and at the end of discussion opted against going to Ghana to ensure that the team complete the signings of new players and also get set for the 2015/2016 season without distractions.

    Meanwhile, Rangers have yesterday visited the Holy Child Motherless Babies Home in Enugu where they donated food items, tissue papers and others to mark the Valentine Day.

  • Akwa Ibom collaborates with Ghana on cocoa production

    The Akwa Ibom government has reaffirmed its commitment to making cocoa farmers play a key role in the economic sector of the country.

    The Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr. Matthew Nathan Ekaette, while exchanging views with the Paramount Ruler of Ini, Ntoeng Effiong Udo Akpan, at his palace last week, said Governor Udom Emmanuel had discovered cocoa which is like gold in Ini Local Government Area.

    Ekaette, accompanied by Dr. Abraham Kay and four technical experts from John Kouffor Foundation, Ghana, noted that the government is committed to changing the investment direction of the state to sustain agriculture and give Akwa Ibom a place in the global production map.

    According to him, a farmer should be one of the financially buoyant individuals in his community; be able to send his children to the best schools and contribute to the society from his resources as a farmer.

    He assured that the Emmanuel administration would reverse the trend, saying that beyond getting cocoa farmers to do their jobs, they would get inputs on how best to handle issues.

    Ekaette said the on-going cocoa revolution in the state promised to be a major source of revenue to the state government because it had brought in experts from Ghana to help the farmers increase their production.

    “Cocoa production in the state is low and the pruning exercise is aimed at improving cocoa yields from the present 300kg per hectare to 600kg per hectare between 2016-2017; from 600kg/hectares to 900kg/hectares between 2017-2018; from 900kg/hectare to 1000kg/hectare between 2018-2019; from 1000kg/hectare to 1500kg/hectare between 2019 -2020,” he stated.

    Declaring open the zoning/mapping exercise, Dr. Kay observed that the potential of cocoa farmers  in the state are far more than what they have in Ghana. During the pruning, farmers who were trained on maintenance operations using Farmers Field School (FFS) model, expressed gratitude to Emmanuel for initiating the training programme for farmers in the 20 cocoa producing communities.

    The pruning covered 13 local government areas.

    These were Ini, Ikono, Uruan, Essien Udim, Abak, Ukanafun, Etim Ekpo, Mkpat Enin Ibiono Ibom, Uyo, Ikot Ekpene, Etinan and Obot Akara. The remaining eight local government areas: Ikot Abasi, Itu, Nsit Ubium, Ibesikpo Asutan, Nsit Ibom, Oruk Anam and Onna will be covered by the end of January 2016, he said.