Kwame A Plus runs down Kojo Oppong Nkrumah

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August 16, 2020

Popular Ghanaian musician, Kwame A Plus, has revealed some damning secrets about the Member of Parliament for Ofoase Ayirebi and Ghana’s information minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, in his latest Facebook post.

A Plus revealed in a Facebook post that the information minister drinks more than and chop girls more than Papa No.

A Plus also indicated that the information minister has no moral right to castigate the Papa No (mystery man) who is at the center of the fracas on social media between actress Tracey Boakye and musician Mabel.

A Plus made this comment and called Kojo Oppong Nkrumah to order for using the viral term, Papa No, in a his submission in parliament yesterday.

A Plus wrote on his Facebook wall:

“After chopping a presidential advisor’s wife and breaking his home you have the guts to talk about “Papa no.” Presidential material my foot. You drink more than Papa no. You chop girls more than papa no. When it comes to morals we are all not clean. If he is “Papa no” you are also “abrantiɛ no!!!”

“You used to come to my house with pono on a pen drive to watch on a projector because you want to see everything clear like Kofi TV. Today you are acting like a Saint just to deceive the people. Fake life nkoaaa. I hate it when men act clean and talk about another man’s promiscuity ????“

My “Papa no” comment was not ill motivated – Oppong Nkrumah

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The Genius Bright

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August 16, 2020

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Information Minister Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah says his ‘Papa no’ comment in Parliament on Friday was not meant to offend anybody.

According to him, the comment was made in jest.

If you say something in jest, you do not mean it seriously.

The phrase ‘papa no’ has become popular on social media after actress Tracey Boakye used it repeatedly to describe a married man she claims she and musician Mzbel are in the same relationship with.

It found its way onto the Floor of Parliament as the House approved the Agyapa Royalties Limited agreement.

“Mr Speaker, I want to encourage my colleagues on the other side. I want to encourage my good friend who just spoke (John Jinapor). In my hometown, we will say, ‘Papa no.’ ‘Papa no.’ I want to encourage ‘Papa no’ to take some time and follow the structure of this conversation and support,” the Ofoase Ayirebi Member of Parliament (MP) told the House.

Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu demanded he withdraws the comment else they won’t recognise him as a Minister and referred to him as ‘Maame no’. He does not understand why the minister will introduce popular phrases being used on social media in the house.

“You come to parliament to employ those words used on social media, we take strong objection to it. If you don’t withdraw, we won’t recognize you today as minister. We will not. Do what you will do,” Mr Iddrisu said.

“From today, we won’t recognize you as minister of this republic. And we will not accord you any respect as minister. Let’s throw it to the dogs. What do you take us for? So, ‘Papa no’ accepted. But from today, we will not.

“We will give you a name. We will give you a name. And we are serving notice, he was elected just like you. And his constituents respect him. Because you people use ‘Papa no’ on social media. We know what it means. We will match you. You have lost my respect as Minority leader from today. We will match you. We too, we will call you ‘Maame no,” Mr Iddrisu added.

Eventually, First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joe Osei Owusu, ruled that sleeping dogs should be allowed to lie.

“The honourable Minority Leader’s anger, I pretended to overlook it because I think it’s in the spur of the moment. And knowing this house, tomorrow, we will get over it. But some insist on making an issue over it.

“I don’t think we will gain anything as a House by pretending this is new. And the threats don’t come to anything. So, the House will proceed,” he said.

The debate on the deal continued after that. Eventually, the Minority MPs walked out of the house in protest of the deal. But the majority went ahead to approve it.

After the approval was given, Mr Oppong-Nkrumah told the House: “Mr Speaker, earlier, I was trying to catch your eye to request that the use of my expression which caused apprehension on the other side be expunged from the record. I didn’t mean it to offend anybody. It was in jest. And if anybody took offence to it, the records should reflect that it’s been expunged,” he said.

We’d reopen School when COVID-19 permits us to – Edu. Minister

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The Genius Bright

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August 15, 2020

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Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has said the reopening of schools in Ghana will be dependent largely on how the coronavirus behaves in the country.

Asked when schools will reopen while speaking in an interview with Berla Mundi on the COVID-19 360 on TV3 Thursday, August 13, Dr Opoku Prempeh said, “we will go back to school if the virus allows us.”

He explained that the decision will be based on the available science and data on the Covid-19 situation in the country.

“So depending on the science and data, we will reopen schools. We reopened schools for final years as they maintain social distancing,” he said.

He observed when schools reopened for final students to write their examinations, the government suffered flak from people.

However these same people, he said, are now calling for all schools to reopen.

“Had it not been that the government was sound of what it was doing they would have given up. All these people saying we should open schools, those people will not be going to be there if we open and an incident happens,” he said.

Dr Opoku Prempeh earlier tested positive for the coronavirus but was treated and declared healed.

However, he said he is unsure whether he has fully recovered from the Coronavirus infection he contracted or not. He believed recovered enough to resume work.

“It was an experience I have said repeatedly that I don’t even wish for my enemy.”

He said it was after he experienced the disease that he came to the reality that, indeed, “Coronavirus is here with us”.

For him, Ghanaians must take all the safety protocols seriously as “it is not a situation I would want anybody to get into”.

He recounts that despite feeling a little bit of malaise about 10 days before he was hospitalised, he got tested for the virus upon advice from close associates but the result came out negative.

He said after returning from his acclamation as the Manhyia South parliamentary candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), he decided to voluntarily take some tests at the UGMC, having gone there to visit a relative admitted for Covid-19.

He said he was there for two weeks, during which same period he heard about the death of the Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie who also contracted the virus.

Dr Opoku Prempeh confessed that he had the belief that he would survive after that close shave with death.

UG Chancellor elected to the African Academy of Sciences Fellowship as Honorary Fellow

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The Genius Bright

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August 14, 2020

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Mrs. Mary Chinery-Hesse, Chancellor of the University of Ghana has been appointed an Honorary Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences. This was communicated by Prof. Catherine Ngila, Ag. Executive Director, African Academy of Sciences. The letter in part stated that the AAS Governing Council having duly considered various persons for honorary fellowship was persuaded that Mrs. Chinery-Hesse’s “contribution on the continent matches the objectives of the Academy”.

An Honorary Fellow of the Academy is elected from among persons of eminence who have made significant contribution to the objectives of the Academy and to the vision of the AAS to ‘transform lives through science’. Even though they may not have significant scientific achievements relative to the Fellows and Associate Fellows, these are eminent individuals who have given distinguished service to society in diverse areas such as teaching; technology; services to professional societies, academia, industry, and government; and/or communicating and interpreting science to the public.

Honorary Fellows will be expected to volunteer to support the Executive Director and Governing Council to make a significant contribution to the work of the AAS. Such contributions may include, but are not limited to:

Volunteering their time and skills to amplify the work of the AAS to transform lives through science on the continent.
Using their talent and/or influence to advance the external reputation of the work of the AAS such as through speaking engagements and building networks.
Providing strategic guidance to the AAS Executive Director and Governing Council in order to unlock resources for AAS programmes and specific flagship initiatives.
Highlighting priority issues in their fields of expertise and draw attention to the activities of the Academy.
Engaging in advocacy, fundraising, and in public awareness activities in line with the mandate of the AAS.
Mrs. Chinery-Hesse who is the first alumna of the University of Ghana to be awarded an honorary degree by her alma mater, has had a distinguished

career as a public servant recognized both nationally and internationally. She has also received several prestigious awards and decorations including the Order of the Star of Ghana in 2006 and the Gusi Peace Prize for International Diplomacy and Humanitarianism in 2010.

Meanwhile the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Ebenezer Oduro Owusu has sent a message of congratulations to the Chancellor. He indicated that the University is proud to be associated with the Chancellor’s election to the African Academy of Sciences and wished her well during her tenure.

The African Academy of Sciences is a non-political, non-aligned, Pan African Organization Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, whose vision is to transform lives through science. It has a tripartite mandate of pursuing excellence by recognizing scholars and achievers; providing advisory and think tank functions for shaping the continent’s strategies and policies; and implementing key science, technology and innovation programmes.

Hearty congratulations to the Chancellor, Mrs. Mary Chinery-Hesse for this appointment. This is yet another feather in your cap. The University community is proud to be associated with you

ECOBANK GHANA MAKES A GHC1. 58 BILLION REVENUE IN 2019

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The Genius Bright

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August 14, 2020

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Ecobank Ghana earned a record total revenue of ¢1.58 billion and profit before tax of ¢642.4 million in the 2019 financial year marking a growth of 21% and 27% respectively over the prior year figures.

Terence Darko, Board Chairman of Ecobank said the bank’s operating expenses growth were well controlled within inflationary levels with a resultant reduction in cost-to-income ratio from 51.5% in 2018 to 45.8% in 2019.

“This remarkable performance is reflective of the Bank’s consistent strategy of building a diversified business model with a focus on growing revenue and managing costs and risks, even in the face of a highly competitive environment.

“Ecobank also posted strong performance on all key balance sheet items, providing its shareholders with a return on equity of 25%. The Bank continues to be well capitalised with total equity of ¢1.78 billion, one of the highest in the industry and a capital adequacy ratio of 18.58%, well above the regulatory requirement of 13%,” he said.

Speaking at Ecobank Ghana’s 15th Annual General Meeting (AGM), he lauded the Directors for their hard work leading to the bank posting sterling financial results and maintaining its position as Ghana’s biggest bank.

This year’s AGM held virtually, highlighted strong growth in revenues and profits, strengthening of the Bank’s balance sheet as well as a dividend payout.

Speaking to shareholders at the AGM, Mr Darko said “the last two years have been marked by significant changes in the Ghanaian banking sector, largely underscored by the Central Bank’s clean-up activities across the industry

“This has reduced the number of banks in Ghana from 34 to 23, and led to a stronger and more efficient banking system.”

He gave a thorough overview of the global and domestic macroeconomic changes and how they have impacted businesses.

Ecobank Ghana ‘s credit rating has been affirmed by the Global Credit Rating Company at AA-(GH) and A1+(GH) in the long term and short term respectively with a stable outlook.

The current ratings reflect the Bank’s established domestic franchise value, resilient financial performance, risk appropriate capitalisation and adequate loan loss reserve.

Given the bank’s stellar performance, the Board proposed a dividend payout of 30 pesewas per share, which was unanimously approved by shareholders.

Fire outbreak in Greater Accra EC Regional Office

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The Genius Bright

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August 14, 2020

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An early Friday morning fire has gutted and destroyed properties at the Electoral Commission’s Greater Accra Regional office.

The Ghana National Fire Service says that investigations are underway to ascertain what caused the fire incident which occurred at about 2:30am.

The building, affected by the fire is said to have been used for the storage of old and used items at the Commission.

The fire, however, did not affect the main administration block of the Commission, UniversNews has learnt

UniversNews gathers that the fire was detected the policeman and the night watchmen on duty at the time.

The fire has been brought under country and the officials at the Commission are counting their losses.

It is worth noting that the Greater Accra Regional Office of the EC is located at Sapeiman, in the Ghana West Municipality

Greenhouse Project hijacked by Nana Addo

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The Genius Bright

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August 14, 2020

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All is set for President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to commission some 75 Greenhouses and Entrepreneurship Innovative Centre at Dawhenya Irrigation site today, but The Herald’s information is that, what is meant to look like an initiative of the present government, is far from the truth.

Electronic fliers, have been sent out on the internet and adverts have been published in the Daily Graphic Newspaper, all in the midst of the fanfare, but The Herald’s investigation, has established that this project was done under the Mahama administration, but was rundown after the workers were sacked from site, when the Akufo-Addo government took office in 2017.

The project, which was under the Youth Enterprise Support (YES) at the Dahwenya Irrigation Greenhouse Enclave, had 100-hectares dedicated to lead the country’s greenhouse revolution.

Indeed, the then Chief Executive of YES, Helga Boadi, was captured by Daily Graphic online in an article written by Seth J. Bokpe and published on February 27, 2017, expressing optimism about more young people being trained to lead greenhouse vegetable production in Ghana.

Interestingly, YES, has since become National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP) and led by Lawyer John Ampontuah Kumah, and he has advertised same project he inherited on the official website of the institution, saying “the NEIP Greenhouse Estate Project is the largest Greenhouse Estate in Africa. Currently we have installed 75 greenhouse domes at the Dawhenya irrigation site in the Greater Accra Region”.

Mr Kumah, has also named the place after the President; Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo Centre for Entrepreneurship & Innovations”.

When reached, Helga Boadi, confirmed her administration started the greenhouse project with the procurement of 74 greenhouses and one nursery on land acquired at the GIDA in Dawhenya.

YES was then in discussion with the Office of President to have ex-President John Maham commission it, but this was not done before the NDC was voted out of power, leading to the change in government in January 2017.

She declined to give further information on the project.

In April 2016, YES contracted Enviro Dome UG, a Ghanaian company to procure and install 74 greenhouses and one nursery on land acquired at the GIDA in Dawhenya.

Installation of these greenhouse units commenced in June 2016 and by February 2017 at least 20 of them were in full operation, whilst the installation of the remaining units was ongoing.

It’s worthy to note that, YES handed over a total of 75 greenhouse (at various stages of installation) units to the new administration in May 2017.

Below, is the Daily Graphic publication on the project entitled “Greenhouse revolution to attract youth into agriculture”.

It’s a large tract of land dotted with swathes of green rice fields and heavy with weeds. A long dusty, snaky road split the fields but it is vehicle-friendly.

But in the belly of the wild and rice fields, greenhouses are springing up-the Dahwenya Irrigation Greenhouse Enclave where 100-hectares have been dedicated to lead the country’s greenhouse revolution.

This is where the Youth Enterprise Support (YES) is hopeful locally grown vegetables will be cultivated which will be showing up on the plates of residents of Accra more often from this year, as it begins a ground-breaking greenhouse project.

It is also where the Chief Executive of YES, Mrs Helga Boadi, is optimistic more young people would be trained to lead greenhouse vegetable production in Ghana.

Among the vegetables to be cultivated are different varieties of cucumbers, melons, tomatoes and capsicum (sweet pepper).

The state start-up financier is establishing the 75-unit greenhouse agriculture estate as an incubator to train young people and a hub for vegetable production to feed Accra, where urban agriculture is a drop in the ocean.

When completed, the YES Greenhouse Village will occupy a five-hectare land with 74 greenhouses and a nursery where seeds would be nursed and transplanted. It would be West Africa’s largest.

The greenhouses are expected to be completed in June before the project takes off.

Even before the first commercial harvest begins, MrsBoadi said there was already an off-taker who imports six forty-footer containers of vegetable into the country, and was willing to buy every single vegetable cultivated in the village.

A pilot of the farm is already yielding fruits with the harvest of cucumber, tomatoes and capsicum (green pepper).

Nana Addo throws out petition to fire EC Boss

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The Genius Bright

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August 14, 2020

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We Will strengthen decentralization programs

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The Genius Bright

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August 14, 2020

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The Flagbearer and Leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has restated his commitment to strengthening the country’s decentralisation process.

According to Mr. Mahama, “it is only through decentralisation that we can see true progress in the country”.

Speaking at a meeting with the Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOSAG) in Accra on Thursday, the former President said it is important to put the destiny of development in the hands of the people, adding “without that we cannot progress as a country”.

Mr. Mahama observed that the progress made in decentralisation has been rolled back in the last three and a half years, following the bastardisation of both the civil and local government service by the government.

He said the government has assisted in the hijacking of the work of the civil and local government service by political assistants, pointing out that as a result of interference by the government, recruitment and promotion is no longer based on merit.

CLAIM THAT MAHAMA CANCELED BOOK AND RESEARCH ALLOWANCE FALSE

By

The Genius Bright

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August 14, 2020

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Claim: Opposition NDC cancelled book and research allowances before leaving office.

Verdict: False. The NDC did not cancel the book and research allowances. There is evidence of continuous payment of the allowances throughout the NDC’s administration until it lost power in December 2016.

Full text:

Ghana’s Minister for Education, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, on Tuesday, August 12, whilespeaking in Parliament, claimed that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government cancelled the Book & Research Allowances for tertiary institution lecturers.

He said it took the Akufo-Addo government’s coming into office to restore the allowances and also increase it from GHS500 to GHS 1,500.

“Mr. Speaker, the Book & Research Allowance which was abolished by the NDC government, has been restored by this government. We have not only restored it but we have approved a 200% increase in the allowance, from the GHS500 to GHS 1,500,” the minister said.

But the Ranking Member for the Education Committee in Parliament and MP for Akatsi North constituency, Peter Nortsu-Kotoe, challenged the claim, insisting that the NDC government never scrapped the allowance.

“There is record to show that the Ministry of Finance in 2016 paid Book and Research allowance to lecturers and affiliated workers in tertiary institutions in this country,” Peter Nortsu Kotoe said.

The NDC government was in power from 2008 to 2016.

Verification:

Few days to the presentation of the 2014 budget in parliament in November 2013, the then Executive Secretary of the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE), Professor Mahama Duwiejua, revealed at a public lecture organized by the Association of African Universities (AAU) that the NCTE was working with the Ministry of Education and the various public universities to establish a research fund.

In that budget presented by the then Finance Minister, Seth Tekper, the government announced that it had decided to replace the payment system for the Book and Research allowances with a research facility.

The matter generated controversy with some tertiary teacher unions protesting against the envisaged cancellation of the Book and Research allowances which they believed was going to be replaced with the proposed research fund announced in the budget.

In the 2015 budget, Seth Tekper indicated that a draft Bill for the research fund was undergoing stakeholders’ consultation and review.

As of November 2016, the research fund which was envisaged to replace the Book and Research allowances was yet to be laid before parliament.

Citinewsroom – Comprehensive News in Ghana

Fact-check: NDC government never cancelled Book and Research allowances
Jonas NyaborbyJonas Nyabor August 13, 2020 3 min read

Claim: Opposition NDC cancelled book and research allowances before leaving office.

Verdict: False. The NDC did not cancel the book and research allowances. There is evidence of continuous payment of the allowances throughout the NDC’s administration until it lost power in December 2016.

Full text:
Ghana’s Minister for Education, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, on Tuesday, August 12, while speaking in Parliament, claimed that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government cancelled the Book & Research Allowances for tertiary institution lecturers.

He said it took the Akufo-Addo government’s coming into office to restore the allowances and also increase it from GHS500 to GHS 1,500.

“Mr. Speaker, the Book & Research Allowance which was abolished by the NDC government, has been restored by this government. We have not only restored it but we have approved a 200% increase in the allowance, from the GHS500 to GHS 1,500,” the minister said.

But the Ranking Member for the Education Committee in Parliament and MP for Akatsi North constituency, Peter Nortsu-Kotoe, challenged the claim, insisting that the NDC government never scrapped the allowance.

“There is record to show that the Ministry of Finance in 2016 paid Book and Research allowance to lecturers and affiliated workers in tertiary institutions in this country,” Peter Nortsu Kotoe said.

The NDC government was in power from 2008 to 2016.

Verification:

Few days to the presentation of the 2014 budget in parliament in November 2013, the then Executive Secretary of the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE), Professor Mahama Duwiejua, revealed at a public lecture organized by the Association of African Universities (AAU) that the NCTE was working with the Ministry of Education and the various public universities to establish a research fund.

In that budget presented by the then Finance Minister, Seth Tekper, the government announced that it had decided to replace the payment system for the Book and Research allowances with a research facility.

The matter generated controversy with some tertiary teacher unions protesting against the envisaged cancellation of the Book and Research allowances which they believed was going to be replaced with the proposed research fund announced in the budget.

In the 2015 budget, Seth Tekper indicated that a draft Bill for the research fund was undergoing stakeholders’ consultation and review.

As of November 2016, the research fund which was envisaged to replace the Book and Research allowances was yet to be laid before parliament.

During that period, the NDC government was still paying the Book and Research allowances in its regular form. Publications on Citifmonline.com and Graphic.com.gh confirmed payments for the 2014/2015, 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 academic years.

A recent report found a letter from the Ministry of Finance authorizing payment for the Book and Research allowances in 2016, the year the NDC government lost power.

When we followed up with a phone call to the 2015 – 2017 National President of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Dr Harry Agbanu, he said the allowances were never cancelled during the NDC administration.

“It wasn’t cancelled. There was the intention of the NDC government to cancel that and we protested. There were discussions to that effect but it was never cancelled. They paid the last book and research allowances to us before they left [office in 2016].”

Conclusion
Based on the evidence above, we conclude that the NDC at no point during its administration cancelled the Book and Research allowances although it had considered reviewing the system of payment to be replaced with the Tertiary Education Research Fund.

The reporter, Jonas Nyabor, produced this fact-check under the auspices of the Dubawa 2020 Fellowship in partnership with Citinewsroom to facilitate the ethos of “truth” in journalism and to enhance media literacy in the country

Living Avenue

Kwame A Plus runs down Kojo Oppong Nkrumah

My “Papa no” comment was not ill motivated – Oppong Nkrumah

We’d reopen School when COVID-19 permits us to – Edu. Minister

UG Chancellor elected to the African Academy of Sciences Fellowship as Honorary Fellow

ECOBANK GHANA MAKES A GHC1. 58 BILLION REVENUE IN 2019

Fire outbreak in Greater Accra EC Regional Office

Greenhouse Project hijacked by Nana Addo

Nana Addo throws out petition to fire EC Boss

We Will strengthen decentralization programs

CLAIM THAT MAHAMA CANCELED BOOK AND RESEARCH ALLOWANCE FALSE

Full text:

VIRTUALLY IMPAIRED MAN GRADUATES FROM UCC

ACTOR AND POLITICIAN JOHN DUMELO GRADUATES FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

NATO CHIEF URGES US TO CONTINUE SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE

THE UK GOVERNMENT LOOKS TO BAN DISPOSABLE VAPES DUE TO CHILDREN’S HEALTH

VIRTUALLY IMPAIRED MAN GRADUATES FROM UCC

ACTOR AND POLITICIAN JOHN DUMELO GRADUATES FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

NATO CHIEF URGES US TO CONTINUE SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE

THE UK GOVERNMENT LOOKS TO BAN DISPOSABLE VAPES DUE TO CHILDREN’S HEALTH