Football legend, Asamoah Gyan, has revealed that he is handsome because he does not drink alcohol.
The former Black Stars captain, who retired from active football months back, is admired by many for his attractive physical looks.
Interacting with fans in a routine Instagram live stream, the Ghana all-time top scorer in history disclosed that not consuming alcohol is the secret to his handsomeness.
Asamoah Gyan
“I don’t drink that’s why I’m this fine. It doesn’t mean that I’m condemning those who drink alcohol but the secret to my fineness is that I don’t drink alcohol,” he said.
The 2010 BBC African Footballer of the Year has 51 goals for Ghana and is the second most-capped player in history (109).
He also stands as Africa’s highest scorer at the FIFA World Cup, having netted six times across three tournaments.
PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY THE GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY ON THE RESIGNATION OF MR. ALAN KYEREMATEN FROM THE NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY ON SEPTEMBER 26, 2023.
National Chairman
Colleague National Officers
Friends from the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen
A very good afternoon to you all
The leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is pleased that you have honored the invitation to this press conference.
As many of you might have heard, the Party has also learnt with shock, the sudden demise of Hon. Daniel Okyem Aboagye, a former Member of Parliament for Bantama Constituency and former Government Spokesperson on Finance.
We therefore, plead with you all, to join us in observing a minute silence in honor of the memory of this illustrious son of the land.
As the Party was coming to terms with the demise of one of our illustrious sons we were hit with news about the resignation of Mr. Alan Kyerematen through a press conference he organised.
The disappointing part is the mode in which he decided to resign from the party, which was through a press conference without prior notice to the party.
The Party wants to believe that by his decision to hold the press conference to resign without first informing the leadership of the Party suggests that he has made a premeditated and irrevocable decision to resign from the Party.
It needs emphasizing that, when the National Chairman visited him on behalf of the Party after the August 26 Special Electoral College, in an attempt to bring all the ten aspirants together, he did not portray any sign of resigning from the party, let alone going independent.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) acknowledges Mr. Kyerematen’s contributions to our party’s growth and development over the years. We respect his decision and extend our gratitude for the services rendered to the NPP and the nation.
Since 1992, several party faithfuls have had the vision to lead the party and, subsequently, to lead the country, but sadly, as nature has its own course, only a few have had the opportunity to achieve that vision. Party faithfuls who never had the opportunity to lead, never resigned from the party but continued to serve, some until they were called to eternity. Just as many faithfuls who had no vision to lead the Party but served the Party in various capacities and never tasted power but died holding unto the banner of our great party.
The NPP has always been a dynamic and resilient political party, and this moment serves as an opportunity for us to demonstrate our unity, fortitude, and unwavering commitment to the principles upon which our party was founded.
As the party strives to win the 2024 general election and make a monumental record, we urge party faithfuls to reaffirm their dedication towards this common goal. Our party’s strength has always been derived from the unity and resilience of our members, and we call upon each and every one of you to rally together and uphold the principles that define us.
Indeed, we are the NPP, and the elephant is our winning symbol.
Justin Frimpong Kodua addressing the media
It must be stated that this press conference is not tailored to attack the personality of Mr. Kyerematen, but, rather to correct certain erroneous statements made in his press conference and also to use this opportunity to set the record straight.
Fellow Ghanaians, central to the reasons given by Mr. Kyerematen for his resignation as captured in pages seven (7) and eight (8) of his resignation address are the allegations of so called unconstitutional and unmeritorious decisions of the National Council regarding a petition by some presidential aspirants which demanded that the Super Delegates Conference should be held at a single venue as well as allowing each delegate to nominate five persons instead of one. Riding on the above narrative, Mr. Kyerematen asserts that the Party’s Super Delegates Conference was strategically and tactically skewed to favour one aspirant.
Justin Frimpong Kodua
First, Article 13(1) (1), of the Party’s Constitution states that the date and venue for the presidential primaries shall be decided by the National Council, provided, however that the National Council may, on appropriate occasion vary the date.
Without doubt, the National Council, the appropriate body mandated by the Party’s Constitution to make a determination on the date and venue did not violate the Constitution by voting against the proposal for the use of a single venue for the elections.
Furthermore, there is a historical precedence. In 2014, the Special Electoral College elections were held at several venues. At the time, no aspirant including Mr. Kyerematen filed no petition regarding the venue.
The Party’s Constitution further states in Article 13(2)(2) that where there is more than one contestant, each delegate will cast his or her vote by secret ballot for one of the contestants. Therefore, the demand by the petitioners for delegates to vote for five (5) persons instead of one is unconstitutional.
It needs mentioning, that as democratic and transparent as the leadership of the Party has been, it recommended to the consideration of the National Council a determination on the petition upon receipt of same. Even more important is the fact that, the petitioners (although most of them are not members of the National Council) were granted the rare opportunity to appear before the Council and make their case on why such a proposal should be adopted.
In a true democratic process, seventy-three (73) members of the National Council voted against both proposals relative to nine (9) others who voted in support, underscoring the overwhelming rejection of both proposals.
Ladies and gentlemen, the leadership of the Party is equally disagrees with assertions made by Mr. Kyerematen in page eight (8) of his resignation address that ‘‘the Party has been hijacked by a selected group of Party leaders and elders, and government appointees behind the curtain power brokers’’.
Guided by facts and data, the leadership of the Party disagrees entirely with this assertion. Historically, the selection of flagbearers for political parties in Ghana had been the preserve of a privileged few until the New Patriotic Party took the bold decision to decentralize the process by expanding its electoral college to enfranchise some One Hundred and Six Thousand, Five-Hundred and Ninety (106,590) delegates in 2010.
Currently, about Two Hundred Thousand (200,000) delegates would be voting to select the Party’s next flagbearer relative to the estimated One Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-Eight delegates (1,998) who did same in 1992. Clearly, the quantum leap to Two Hundred Thousand (200,000) delegates in 2023 underscores the decentralization of power to all Party stakeholders and defeats the assertion that the Party has been
hijacked by a privileged few.
In reference to Mr. Kyerematen’s concerns, which include allegations of intimidation against his supporters, it is noteworthy that certain government appointees, including cabinet ministers, who openly declared their support for him are still at post and have never been intimidated.
Under the Fourth Republic, both the NPP and the NDC have had some leading members of their party breaking ranks to either form their own party, or join other political parties, yet the mother party remained resilient.
Going into the 2024 general elections, the party has a message, and we use this opportunity to commend Mr. Kyerematen for admitting the good work the government has done under his then ministry.
Namely:
1. Establishment of the One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative
2. The establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) with the headquarters of the Secretariat in Ghana
3. The development of new strategic anchor industries, including automobile assembly and Component Manufacturing.
4. The establishment of business resource centres and technology solutions centres all over the country
Integrated Customs Service (UNIPASS) to enhance government revenue.
The establishment of industrial parks, including the greater Kumasi industrial city and Special Economic Zone.
The development of a national export strategy with a target of achieving export revenue of 25 billion US dollars by 2030.
The introduction of business regulatory reforms and public-private dialogue mechanisms to facilitate government interaction with the private sector.
The party urges all sector Ministers and other government appointees to also start propagating the unprecedented achievements of the government in their respective sectors just as Mr. Kyerematen has done.
We also commend the Party’s rank and file for remaining steadfast and openly rallying behind the party.
Indeed, this is the true spirit of the New Patriotic Party.
To all Party faithfuls who were hitherto supporting Mr. Kyerematen by virtue of his membership in the Party, though it is disappointing and distressing, we urge you to continue supporting the Party in our quest to break the eight (8).
Together, we shall overcome challenges, and together, we shall achieve success. We urge all party faithfuls to remain committed, dedicated and resolute in the ongoing Voter limited registration exercise.
Together, we shall persevere, and together, we shall succeed.
Indeed, we are the NPP, and the elephant is our winning symbol
The Catholic Standard, before it was banned by the PNDC government of Jerry John Rawlings in 1985, was Ghana’s oldest private newspaper, owned by the Catholic Church of Ghana. The editor of the Catholic Standard during the PNDC era was Reverend Dr. Charles Palmer Buckle, the former ArchBishop of Accra.
It will be recalled that when the PNDC ousted Dr. Hilla Limann’s PNP government in 1981, the PNDC carried out several anti-democratic and human rights abuses against many Ghanaians including journalists, chiefs, traders, politicians, judges, university lecturers, ex-police and army officers, trade unionists, members of the clergy and ordinary citizens.
For example apart from the murder of the three high court judges and an ex-army major in 1982, the regime also arrested and detained Kwesi Pratt and Kwaku Baako before freeing them later on.
On 22 June, 1982, the publishers of the Free Press, Mr Tommy Thompson, his editor, Mr John Kugblenu, and Mike Adjei a senior writer of the paper, were all imprisoned without trial for penning editorials critical of the PNDC regime. After a year in detention the three were freed but John Kugblenu died a week after his release.
In February 1985, the news-editor of the Pioneer newspaper together with Baffour Ankomah (the editor of Pioneer in Kumasi from 1983-6 and the New African magazine current editor) “were arrested and detained at Gondar Barracks in Accra accused of publishing ‘false reports’ about an assassination attempt on the life of Jerry Rawlings in Kumasi”. For their crime their heads were shaved. They were also tortured before being thrown into separate guardrooms. They were later released.
Fearing for their lives, several journalists, unionists, business people, politicians and army officers fled the country.
For example the editors of Palaver and the Echo fled Ghana. John Dumoga, who edited The Echo, fled to Nigeria by means of a refuse truck. Baffour Ankomah later fled the country after his article ‘Ghana, Marxism and lies’ incurred the wrath of the PNDC apparatchiks.
In 1985 three union members of the Cocoa Marketing Board in Accra were arrested and sent to Gondar Barracks. One of them was tortured to death there. Another Ahmed Pobee, who was then 35 years, was seriously injured after a soldier violently stamped on his manhood.
Pobee was freed but later escaped to Lagos in Nigeria after attempt were made to arrest him for the second time. Those journalists who stayed maintained a low profile, stopped writing anything political or branched into sports writing. These activities by the PNDC around the country, imposed what became known as the ‘culture of silence’ on the entire population.
However these atrocities did not go down well with the Catholic Standard and its editor Reverend Dr. Charles Palmer Buckle and many of the private press in the country including Free Press, The Palaver,
The Echo, the Pioneer, The Believer, the Ghanaian Voice and many others. As a result the private press and particularly the Catholic Standard and Rev. Palmer Buckle became the mouthpiece of the silent majority. *
The Standard and its editor took it upon themselves to courageously fight for liberty and freedom for Ghanaians*. For instance when John Kugblenu (editor of the Free Press) died in 1984, a week after his release from detention no paper was able to report it. It was Rev. Palmer Buckle and the Catholic Standard who mastered courage to report Kugblenu’s death.
Despite the threat to his life, Rev. Buckle did not budge.
He actually developed a martyr’s complex, putting the interest of Ghanaians above his own life. He continued to highlight the brutalities of the regime while at the same time punching holes into the PNDC’s populist propaganda. As a result, Rev Buckle and the Catholic Standard became the target of the PNDC.
In fact the agents of the PNDC became incensed and were more ever determined to eliminate the vociferous reverend minister. As Baffour Ankomah observed in his article ‘Ghana’s culture of silence’: “In November 1985, the same Catholic Standard [and Palmer Buckle] antagonised the government with a series of down-to-earth editorials.
The editor, Rev. Dr Palmer Buckle, became a target, but when government soldiers moved in for the kill, they mistook another priest for Rev. Buckle. The priest’s body was found at the Choker beach near Accra the following morning.”
The killing of the priest by regime’s forces was not the first time a man of God, had been killed by the PNDC. Three years before that tragedy, a similar tragedy had happened in Kumasi.
According to Ankomah, the PNDC declared “February 7, 1982 a national day of prayer — every Muslim, every Christian was to pray and ask for God’s blessings on Ghana, especially for rains and prosperity which we needed badly.
It was a solemn day. But it so happened that a major in the armed forces stationed in Kumasi, entered a church building where national prayers were being said to ask the congregation to come out to assist in filling potholes on the road in front of the church.
A misunderstanding ensued. The major pulled a pistol. He was disarmed by a policewoman in the congregation who suffered a bullet wound in the face as a result.
The gunshot so alarmed the congregation that they threw their Christianity out of the window and killed the major….When the news of his death reached the Kumasi Barracks, the Commander ordered his troops into town in pursuit of the fleeing murderers.
A reign of terror was unleashed on the near one million residents of the city. For close up to a week, both the innocent and the guilty were arrested, several of them summarily executed, without trial. The pastor of the church was captured three days later and shot.
The soldiers sadistically tied his mutilated body to the back of one of their trucks, dragged it along the road from the Barracks to the centre of town (some two miles away), left it to public view for more than eight hours, and finally set fire to it before the eyes of the bemused and frightened inhabitants. Some of the soldiers even ran to the hospital where the policewoman had been admitted.
They found her in bed, having just come through a major operation. They shot her in the hospital bed, forcing all the other patients in the ward to flee for their lives.
The soldiers then chased the surgeon who performed the operation around the hospital. Fortunately he was able to escape and flee the country. Later, the Commander of the troops came out publicly to say he had no regrets for the week’s incidents — the tyranny, the killing of innocents — and that if they had to do it again, they would.”
That is a short history of the PNDC and the Clergy in the 1980s. The PNDC became the NDC in 1992.
ALAN LIED ABOUT MAKING ME CONSTITUENCY CHAIRMAN AND REGIONAL CHAIRMAN
Our attention has been drawn to some false claims by Mr. Alan Kyerematen during a TV interview at United Television
Chairman Wontumi
Hon.Alan Kyeremanten
This morning, regarding the political progression of the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Mr. Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly, known as Chairman Wontumi. According to Mr Kyerematen, he discovered and introduced Chairman Wontumi to political limelight. Although Chairman Wontumi was once a staunch supporter of Mr. Kyerematen,
it is never true that he brought him (Chairman Wontumi) to mainstream politics or political limelight.
As a matter of fact, Chairman Wontumi became the NPP Constituency Chairman of Bosomtwe as a staunch loyalist of Nana Akufo Addo.
It was during his time as the Bosomtwe Constituency Chairman that he met Mr. Kyerematen. And it was actually the current District Chief Executive for Atwima Nwabiagya North, Hon. Rebecca Yeboah, popularly known as “Sister Bantama”, who was at the time a member of the NPP Volunteer Media Communication who took Chairman Wontumi to the residence of the then NPP Constituency Chairman for Asokwa, Mr. Robert Asare Bediako, where he met Mr. Kyerematen.
During their meeting, someone recorded and leaked the engagement to the then Opposition Leader, HE Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo.
Out of fury, some handlers of HE Nana Akufo Addo prevented Chairman Wontumi from seeing him when the latter visited to seek his blessings and support for his Regional Chairmanship ambition.
But through the intervention of Hon Eugene Boakye Antwi, Chairman Wontumi got the chance to visit HE Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo in London.
With the exception of the late Dr. Kwame Amoako Tuffour who stood solidly behind and with Chairman Wontumi, all the other Akufo Addo loyalists were against him.
To state it categorically without mincing words, Chairman Wontumi went into the Regional Chairmanship Elections against Hon. Lawyer Osei Prempeh without the support of HE Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo and Mr. Alan Kyerematen. Indeed, 100% credit goes to the late Dr. Amoako Tuffour so far as the successful regional chairmanship bid of Chairman Wontumi is concerned.
Chairman Asare Bediako, Agya Sei and my good self, Andy Owusu who was the Campaign Manager at the time, also played various instrumental roles in the campaign.
I will conclude by stating that, Mr. Kyerematen’s claims of introducing Chairman Wontumi to political limelight, and making him Constituency Chairman and subsequently, Ashanti Regional Chairman are palpable falsehoods, and must be treated with the contempt they deserve.
signed:
Andy Owusu,
Special Assistant to Chairman Wontumi
The Minister of National Security, Kan Dapaah has sued the convener of the #FixTheCountry Movement, Oliver Barker-Vormawor for alleging that the National Security and other government officials met him in 2021 and offered him money to supposedly silence him.
Barker-Vormawor made the allegations after he and others were released by the police after they were arrested on September 22, for staging a demonstration in Accra in breach of a restraining order secured by the police.
Kan Dapaah in his suit is among other things asking the court to declare that the words uttered by Barker-Vormawor are defamatory.
He is also demanding the “recovery of the sum of Ten Million Ghana Cedis (GHC10,000,000.00) as General Damages including Aggravated and/or Exemplary Damages for Defamation for the words uttered by Defendant.”
He is also demanding an apology for and retraction of the words complained of as well as “a perpetual injunction restraining the Defendant from repeating similar or other defamatory words against the Plaintiff.”
Mr. Barker-Vormawor had claimed that he was offered an enticing amount of $1 million and other juicy positions in government in order to stop this activism which was supposedly painting the government black.
The activist had insisted that he had evidence to his claim, but he is yet to make the files public.
The Management of Ghana’s leading telecommunication Network,MTN has rendered an unqualified apology to all customers over intermittent challenges a cross-section of customers are experiencing in accessing data,voice and MoMo services.
A short statement issued by MTN Corporate Communications reads “MTN apologizes for the intermittent challenges a cross-section of customers are experiencing in accessing data,voice and MoMo services.This is as a result of a technical challenge.
Our Engineers are working to resolve the issue.We will keep customers updated when the issue is resolved.
The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has urged its members who supported resigned member of the party and former Flagbearer hopeful, Alan Kyerematen, to continue supporting the NPP to win the upcoming 2024 general election.
“To all party faithful who were hitherto supporting Mr Alan Kyerematen by virtue of his membership of the party, though it is disappointing and distressing, we urge you to continue supporting the party in our to break the 8. Together we shall overcome challenges and together we shall achieve success.
Justin Frimpong Kodua,NPP GS
“We urge all party faithful to remain committed, dedicated and resolute in the ongoing voters registration exercise. We shouldn’t lose focus, together we shall preserve and together we shall succeed. Indeed, we are the NPP and the elephant is our winning symbol,” General Secretary of the NPP, Justin Frimpong Kodua said at a press conference in Accra.
Mr Alan Kyerematen, a long-standing member of the party on Monday, 25th September 2023 announced his resignation from the party to contest the 2024 Presidential election as an independent candidate.
According to him, the NPP as it exists now has very little resemblance to the party that he joined in 1992 as a founding member.
“I joined the New Patriotic Party at the very beginning of its establishment as a founding member believing in its core values and the long-standing traditions of its antecedents predicated on the principles of fairness, equity, probity, accountability and transparency. IO have devoted the best part of my professional career to serving the party and I still believe in the vision of the founding fathers of the party. However, the NPP as it exists now has very little resemblance to the party that I joined in 1992 and help develop.
“The party has been hijacked by selected group of party leaders and elders, government appointees behind the curtain power brokers and some unscrupulous party apparatchiks.
It was my fervent wish to use the vehicle of the party to bring my God-given talent, experience and knowledge acquired local and international over a period of forty-six years to serve our nation Ghana at the highest level of executive authority.
“It is abundantly clear to me that my services and contributions to the party are not appreciated and that my continuous stay in the party will create further tension and division which is an exact replay of the circumstances that led to my decision to resign from the party in 2008. Under the circumstances, and given the contest provided,
I wish to use this platform to announce that I am honorably resigning with immediate effect from the New Patriotic Party to contest for the high office of the President of the Republic of Ghana in the 2024 general election as an independent Presidential candidate,” the former Minister for Trade and Industry announced at a press conference in Accra on September 25, 2023.
The former Ghana Ambassador to the United States of America announced the establishment of a new Movement for Change in Ghana.
“The brand logo for the movement is the monarch Butterly which politically symbolizes change and transformation, hope and positivity. It also communicates strength, endurance, spirituality and trust which are all key traits I cherish as a political leader. The brand motto of the Movement is: Ghana Will Rise Again, which symbolizes hope for the future of Ghana. The new movement will be led and powered by the youth of Ghana.”
Alan Kyerematen who placed third in the party’s August 26 special delegates conference in a statement dated September 5, 2023, announced his decision to withdraw from the NPP Presidential primary slated for November 4.
He cited the intimidation of his agents and the fact that the race seems to be deliberately skewed to favour one of the candidates as reason to opt out of the race.
The General Secretary of the governing New Patrotic Party(NPP),Justin Frimpong Kodua, has commended the former Minister of Trade and Industry for acknowledging the good works done by NPP Government led by Nana Akufo-Addo especially under One District ,One Factory(1D1F).
He therefore urges all sector Ministers and Government appointees to start propagating government’s achievements just as Hon.Alan Kyerematen has done.The General Secretary expressed worried by the mode adopted by the former NPP Flagbearer hopeful in announcing his resignation from the party to contest 2024 general elections as independent Presidential candidate.
Justin Kodua in a presser today,Tuesday,26th September ,2023 called on the rank and file of the party across the country to remain committed towards their determination to break in 2024 general elections. He also stressed on the need for all party members to stay united .The General Secretary also used the opportunity to clear a some wrong impression Hon.Alan Kyerematen’s press conference e sought about the processes leading to the party’s Presidential Primaries.Source:tntnewspapergh,com
Good afternoon fellow Kukrudites. I find it extremely necessary to address Mr Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen’s decision to leave the New Patriotic Party to run as independent Presidential Candidate.
First and foremost I write to distance myself from his recent decision.
I had earnestly supported him on his bid to run the NPP Presidential Primaries based on our mutual beliefs in the vision of the NPP, respect for each other and personal relationship with him.
I write to state unequivocally that I am a committed NPP member who adhere to the values, vision and the principles of our dear party. Many will testify to the fact that I always display my unflinching support for the party and will continue to do.
Hon Patricia Appiagyei aka Mama Pat, Asokwa MP
Our strength in unity must be jealously guarded and therefore call on all dedicated party members to stay focus and united to chart our path to break the 8.
