Category: Daily Guide Network

Nigerian singer and member of the defunct P-Square duo, Peter Okoye, popularly known as Mr. P, has said celebrities alone cannot bring about the changes needed to address Nigeria’s challenges.

The singer made the remarks while reacting to calls for celebrities to speak out against bad governance, insecurity and economic hardship in the country.

According to him, national development and positive change require the collective efforts of all Nigerians rather than relying solely on public figures and entertainers.

Mr. P also acknowledged his previous stance of distancing himself from discussions about the country’s challenges, noting that the issues facing Nigeria affect everyone regardless of status or profession.

‘I apologise for saying I won’t concern myself with Nigeria’s challenges anymore. This is our country, and it is only us who can bring positive changes,’ he said.

He stressed that while many celebrities use their platforms to raise awareness on national issues, the responsibility of demanding accountability and driving change should be shared by all citizens.

‘Celebrities alone can’t save Nigeria. All those clamouring for celebrities to speak up against bad governance should redirect their energy. It is not a matter of celebrities,’ he added.

Mr. P further expressed concern about the state of the nation, stating that the country’s current challenges require a united effort from Nigerians to achieve meaningful progress.

The Local Union of the National Lottery Authority (NLA) has issued a formal notice of intent to embark on industrial action from June 24, 2026, accusing management of failing to address ‘long-standing operational inefficiencies’ that threaten staff welfare and the Authority’s survival.

In a strongly worded five-page notice addressed to management, and signed by the Union Chair, Eric Tamakloe and Secretary Murphy Adu-Kwao, the Union said it had exhausted ‘patience, social dialogue, and industrial civility’ after repeated petitions and engagements yielded no results.

The Union warned that a total shutdown will begin if a ‘concrete, satisfactory, and enforceable agreement’ is not reached by 5:00 p.m. on June 19, 2026.

‘Barren, Substandard’ Workplaces

The Union listed 10 non-negotiable grievances. Chief among them are what it called ‘deplorable working conditions’ across NLA offices. Staff, it said, lack functional laptops, stationery, and basic office equipment, while photocopiers, scanners, and printers have broken down, creating administrative bottlenecks.

Some workers endure ‘stifling, poorly ventilated environments’ due to faulty air conditioning, and sanitation facilities have degenerated into an ‘unhygienic state,’ posing health hazards. Organisational housing for staff has also fallen into ‘severe structural decay’ due to neglected maintenance.

Obsolete tools hurting revenue

Frontline staff and Licensed Marketing Companies are reportedly burdened by obsolete Point of Sale terminals plagued by network failures and hardware degradation. The Union said this causes lost revenue, customer hostility, and ‘extreme mental fatigue,’ while recent attempts to deploy new terminals through Fidelity Bank have stalled. It alleged the delays create room for private lotto operators to thrive.

Recruitment, compliance, and safety concerns

The Union also accused management of ‘arbitrary, non-transparent recruitment’ that bypasses the Collective Agreement, ignoring internal advertising and union consultation despite citing financial constraints.

The Union also cited ‘dereliction of duty’ in regulatory enforcement, claiming unvetted private operators are cannibalising NLA’s market share and threatening job security.

Field staff are said to use ‘unroadworthy’ vehicles, putting drivers and officers at risk, while delayed payment of lottery wins has damaged the NLA’s reputation and exposed frontline workers to backlash from aggrieved players. The Union questioned the Authority’s liquidity and escrow management.

Governance and welfare disputes

The notice raised alarm over outsourcing core payment software, FAST-PAY and FAST-CREDIT, to a dismissed former staff member accused of misconduct. The Union called it a ‘catastrophic breach of corporate governance’ and a security risk, saying the individual is being considered for a lucrative contract without procurement processes.

Other grievances include the delayed Scheme of Service, which has ‘frozen staff stagnation’ and denied promotions, and the stalled Health Insurance Scheme, leaving staff financially vulnerable under a cash-and-carry system.

The Union also condemned a Ministry of Finance directive to divert Good Causes Foundation proceeds to the LEAP programme, calling it ‘severe misappropriation’ that strips staff of welfare support.

Union demands and deadline

To avert the strike, the Union demanded immediate procurement of working tools and POS machines, a freeze on irregular recruitment, enforcement against illegal operators, grounding of unroadworthy vehicles, prompt payment of wins, termination of contracts with the dismissed staffer, implementation of the Scheme of Service and health insurance, and restoration of Good Causes funds.

‘We remain open to urgent, high-level mediation, but we will no longer accept vague promises or stalling tactics,’ the Union said. ‘The safety, dignity, and livelihood of our workers are paramount.’

NLA management had not issued a public response at the time of filing this report.

The Volta Regional Office of the Lands Commission has commissioned a new Client Service Access Unit (CSAU) and rolled out the Enterprise Land Information System (ELIS) in Ho.

The move marks a major step in digitising land administration to improve transparency, efficiency, and public access while cutting delays.

Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Alhaji Yusif Suleman, praised the digital reforms, saying ELIS and the CSAU will address long-standing delays, missing files, and bureaucracy by boosting transparency, processing speed, and accountability.

He pledged to relay concerns on infrastructure, demarcation, compensation arrears, logistics, and staff welfare to the substantive Minister for action.

He also commended businessman, Francis Tay, for funding ELIS deployment in the region, calling it a patriotic act that should encourage more private sector support for national development.

Chairman of the Lands Commission’s Governing Board, Dr. Wordsworth Odame-Larbi, called ELIS a transformative reform that will end manual record-keeping.

He said digital innovation makes reliance on paper systems unsustainable and urged staff to embrace the transition through continuous learning.

He warned that data entry errors in ELIS could persist for years and affect outcomes, stressing the need for accuracy.

Dr. Odame-Larbi described the CSAU as the Commission’s first point of public contact and key to institutional credibility. He charged staff to maintain professionalism, patience, and integrity, noting public confidence depends on front-desk service quality.

‘We are not going back to the old system. Once ELIS is deployed, notebooks and manual records must give way to digital operations,’ he said.

Volta Regional Lands Commission Chairman, Divine Fiakpui-Dzahini, noted many state lands remain undemarcated, leaving them open to illegal occupation and disputes.

He appealed for resources to demarcate and register all state lands, adding that compensation delays have led affected persons to reoccupy acquired properties, creating recurring conflicts.

AT LEAST one person was killed and three others injured late Monday night when a fuel tanker burst into flames after a head-on collision with a tipper truck on the Accra-Tema Motorway.

Three occupants – Kwabena Agyapong, Joseph Teye Quarshie, and Aaron Kyei – were pulled from the wreckage and rushed to Tema General Hospital before firefighters arrived. The charred remains of a man believed to be the driver of the tipper truck, AS 466-19, were later recovered and handed to police for preservation and investigation.

The crash happened at about 11:49 p.m. on June 8 between Saka Saka Park and TaniNK Ghana, the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) disclosed. Firefighters from the Tema Motorway Fire Station raced to the scene and found the fuel tanker, with registration AS 3555-24, fully engulfed in flames.

Reinforcements from Ashaiman and Tema Industrial Area stations, plus a water tanker from Ashaiman Municipal Assembly, joined the battle against the inferno.

After nearly two hours of intense firefighting, crews brought the blaze under control at 12:56 a.m. and fully extinguished it by 1:44 a.m. Officials said the coordinated response prevented the tanker from exploding – a disaster that could have levelled a wide stretch of the busy motorway.

The impact and fire left both vehicles gutted. All 26 tyres on the fuel tanker were burnt out, the front sections of both vehicles were crushed, and an unknown quantity of fuel was lost in the blaze.

Firefighters and police stayed on scene into Tuesday morning, cooling hotspots and clearing debris to restore traffic flow. The cause of the crash and fire remains under investigation.

‘As a precautionary measure during fuel transfer operations at the Accra-Tema Motorway crash and fire scene, the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) deployed three firefighting crews. This deployment included the Ashaiman Fire Engine and a water tanker from the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly to mitigate fire risks and safeguard both emergency personnel and road users,’ stated DO II Desmond Ackah, Head of Public Relations for the GNFS.

The GNFS commended its personnel for their swift action, saying their ‘coordinated effort helped avert a potentially devastating explosion’.

Music star, Gyakie, has expanded her international reach after featuring on ‘Call Me’, a song by Mavo from Camisa 10, a music project linked to Brazilian football icon, Ronaldinho.

The collaboration is another major step in Gyakie’s career as she continues to make inroads into the global music market. Her contribution to the song highlights her growing appeal beyond Africa and reinforces her reputation as one of Ghana’s most successful contemporary artists.

Since breaking onto the music scene, Gyakie has consistently attracted international attention through her unique sound, chart-topping releases, and collaborations with artists from around the world. Her latest appearance on Camisa 10 adds another noteworthy achievement to her expanding portfolio.

The track also features the creative influence of co-producer iPhxne DJ, whose contributions helped shape the record’s overall sound. Flip The Music, Gyakie’s record label, played a key role in supporting and coordinating the collaboration.

With Ronaldinho’s global popularity extending far beyond football, the project is expected to attract listeners from various regions, offering Gyakie another platform to showcase her talent to new audiences.

The collaboration comes at a time when African music continues to gain international recognition, with artists from the continent increasingly securing opportunities on major global projects. For Gyakie, the feature represents another significant milestone in a career that continues to move from strength to strength.

Police investigations into the high-profile armed robbery at CABEST Jewellery at Adabraka in Accra have led to the recovery of firearms, ammunition and police gear, while several suspects have been arrested and arraigned before court.

The Minister for the Interior, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, disclosed this on the floor of Parliament yesterday while briefing lawmakers on the progress of investigations into the robbery, which occurred on November 2, 2024.

According to the minister, armed robbers made away with GHS7.5 million in cash and 620 grammes of gold valued at GHS863,688 during the daylight attack.

He explained that Seth Oborley and Isaac Gyamfi, customers of CABEST Jewellery, had visited the shop owned by its Chief Executive Officer, Clement Amoh Baffour, to transact business in gold.

After the transaction, the proceeds were loaded into the boot of a red Toyota Corolla with registration number GE 4840-24, he narrated.

The minister said, however, that as the occupants attempted to transport the money to a bank, a group of armed men wearing face masks and travelling in a Toyota Highlander intercepted the vehicle.

He indicated that the robbers, armed with AK-47 assault rifles, fired several shots into the air and at the ground to disperse onlookers before shooting the driver in both legs.

According to him, the assailants then seized GHS7.5 million from the vehicle and stormed the jewellery shop, where they robbed the owner of 620 grammes of gold before fleeing the scene.

Mr. Muntaka said police immediately activated surveillance and intelligence operations to track down the perpetrators.

He added that investigations led to the arrest of Salim Mohammed, also known as Fariwata, at Crystal Hospital in Ashaiman.

The minister said subsequent operations resulted in the arrest of Illiyasu Alhassan, alias Arab Man, Hamza Grego, also known as Lambert or Nene Bawku, Abdul Samed Bonsiabu, alias Touch, Fatau Ibrahim, alias Motorway, Bubakar Sadik, alias Fifty Cent, and Solomon Nartey Larnor, alias Rasta.

The Interior Minister stated that one suspect, Baba Chika, also known as Oil Money, remains at large and is being pursued by the police.

He told the lawmakers that a search conducted at the residences of Illiyasu Alhassan and Hamza Grego yielded 43 rounds of AK-47 ammunition, 249 BB cartridges, two pump-action guns, four police bulletproof vests, a pair of black police boots and a Gota mobile phone.

During interrogation, he said, Illiyasu Alhassan reportedly admitted ownership of the items recovered.

He noted that police also retrieved the Toyota Highlander allegedly used in the robbery from a witness’s residence on January 14, 2026.

He said investigators found that the vehicle had been repainted blue and stripped of its registration plates in an apparent attempt to evade detection.

The minister disclosed that CCTV footage obtained by the Police Emergency Command Centre in Accra showed the vehicle in its original colour prior to the robbery.

Mr. Muntaka further revealed that an identification parade conducted at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters on February 17, 2026, led to the identification of five suspects by witnesses.

He said police subsequently revisited and reconstructed the crime scene with the suspects to establish how the robbery unfolded.

According to the minister, all arrested suspects have been charged and arraigned before court, where they were remanded into police custody.

He told Parliament that the case was last heard on March 24, 2026, and adjourned to April 9, 2026, adding that a duplicate case docket has also been forwarded to the Attorney-General’s Department for study, legal advice and prosecution.

The Health Minister, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, must adopt a better management template for the sector he manages on behalf of the people of Ghana.

So far, he does not deserve plaudits for a stewardship which falls below acceptable standards and is dotted with brusqueness and show or even abuse of power.

For a stewardship which is occasioned by doctors’ strikes, we would be wrong not to find faults with his management as political head of this important sector.

In Tamale, what unfolded at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) took place when doctors downed their tools in protest at his stewardship.

But for the intervention of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the strike at KATH would have continued and many fatalities would have been recorded.

Now that the doctors have suspended their strike action, of course as they await a positive feedback from the government and for that matter the Health Ministry regarding their plight, we ask that this be expedited.

In the first place, such brusque reaction when there are issues does not speak of good leadership. As a minister, it behooves him to maintain a cordial relationship with his critical publics and, in this case, the doctors and other health delivery staff who manage the hospitals.

Doctors and other health staff in public hospitals are working under rather challenging conditions such as overcrowded ambiences and restricted tools.

The resultant poor motivation is enough to have doctors and other health delivery staff flip when political heads exude arrogant postures when discharging their political oversight roles over them.

The Health Minister should rather use his energy to seek improved working conditions for the doctors and, above all, provide health facilities with amenities which inure to the good of patients.

Mr. Akandoh should know that failure on his part can go a long way in impacting the quality of health service in hospitals, as witnessed in the KATH case.

Our health facilities need equipment and more beds so doctors can perform their assigned roles. Doctors do not want situations where their patients die because of the absence of required facilities such as beds.

The CEO was suspended because he took a decision which was not palatable leadership, period. It was a decision which was not intended to wreak untoward impact on patients but rather improve health delivery.

The Health Minister should render an unalloyed apology to the CEO of KATH, something we doubt he would.

When there are creditable elders at home, positive interventions are possible, and this, the Asantehene provided productively.

The Health Minister failed to have the doctors return to the consulting rooms but the Asantehene did. Cool heads are better than haughty ones.

For decades, Ghana has treated flooding as an emergency. Every rainy season, government agencies and some corporate bodies, including a few religious organisations and individuals mobilise relief items, reconstruct damaged roads and bridges, desilt drains, and compensate affected victims and communities.

This cycle repeats itself year after year, consuming public, private and individual resources that could otherwise be invested in national development.

Perhaps it is time for Ghana to consider a bold policy innovation which I will call RAINFALL TAX.

Concept of the rainfall tax

The proposal is not a tax on the rain that falls from the atmosphere. Rather, it is an environmental financing mechanism that requires developments with extensive impermeable surfaces such as rooftops, concrete compounds, shopping centres, parking areas and paved landscapes to contribute towards the cost of managing the rainwater runoff they generate as a result of their actions.

Urban flooding and scientific evidence

From available literature, scientific evidence shows that urban flooding in Ghana is increasingly linked to the rapid replacement of natural vegetation with concrete surfaces as well as building on natural waterways and converting naturally occurring waterlogged areas into development landscapes.

As a result, these impermeable surfaces expand, rainwater can no longer infiltrate the soil but instead flows rapidly into drains and waterways that are already choked with plastics and solid waste, overwhelming existing infrastructure and causing floods.

Research on the Accra Metropolis found that large sections of the city have become natural runoff convergence zones, with approximately one-third classified as flood-prone and another quarter experiencing frequent flooding due to topography, drainage patterns and urban development.

Flooding in Accra and its environs are not new. Historical records indicate major flood events dating back as published on the front page of The Ghanaian Daily Graphic of 18th April 1960 just to mention as emphasis and support my argument and the catastrophic June 3, 2015, disaster, among many others are testimonials we have worked for.

The June 3, 2015, flood and fire disaster remains one of the darkest moments in Ghana’s recent history. More than 150 lives were lost, over 53,000 people were affected, and extensive damage occurred to homes, transport systems, water infrastructure and businesses.

The estimated direct economic damage exceeded US$55 million, while reconstruction needs were estimated at approximately US$105 million eleven years ago.

Economic and developmental impact

Beyond these headline figures lies an even greater economic burden. Every flood destroys individual homes and property, roads, schools, markets, electricity infrastructure and private investments while reducing productivity, disrupting transport and imposing heavy fiscal pressures on Ghana’s constrained budget.

Shift from reactive to proactive policy

Academics, researchers and sustainable development practioners including resilience infrastructure experts have consistently argued that Ghana’s flood management strategy should move from reactive disaster response towards proactive investment in resilience, risk reduction and integrated urban water management. This is where the rainfall tax proposal becomes relevant.

Policy mechanism and design

The principle is simple: developments that increase rainwater runoff should contribute to financing the infrastructure needed to manage that runoff.

When implemented, revenue generated could be deposited into a dedicated Rainwater Management Fund, protected by law and used exclusively for drainage expansion, desilting of waterways, rainwater harvesting systems, retention ponds, wetland restoration, green infrastructure, flood forecasting systems and climate adaptation projects.

Incentives for green infrastructure

The tax could also encourage environmental stewardship by providing rebates to households, industries and commercial properties that install rainwater harvesting systems, permeable pavements, green roofs or other sustainable drainage technologies.

Climate change and financing context

As climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall events across West Africa, Ghana requires innovative domestic financing mechanisms that complement international climate finance while reducing dependence on emergency expenditures after disasters occur.

Core policy question

The debate should therefore not be whether Ghana should tax rain. The real question is whether those developments that significantly increase runoff should contribute to the public cost of managing its consequences.

Cost of inaction

Every year, unmanaged rainfall costs Ghana lives, livelihoods and millions of cedis in infrastructure damage. A carefully designed Rainfall Tax could transform that same rainfall into a predictable source of financing for climate resilience, safer cities and sustainable development.

The choice before Ghana today is simple: continue paying for floods after they happen, or invest in managing rainfall before it becomes a disaster.

Conclusion

In otherwise, the choice before Ghana is no longer between action and inaction, but between repeated disaster recovery and strategic resilience financing. A Rainfall Tax offers a practical pathway to convert an escalating climate risk into a structured investment in national protection, infrastructure durability, and long-term economic stability.

The National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, has commended the Ghana Hajj Board Chairman, Alhaji Tanko Abdul Rauf, for what he said is a successful operation this year.

In a statement, the Chief Imam stated that President John Mahama also deserved commendation for rendering the necessary support to the Board to deliver on their mandate.

He was quick to however ask the Board Chair not to allow perfectionist tendency to drag him into complacency.

He also congratulated the pilgrims on their successful performance of the Hajj and for its acceptance by Allah.

A successful Hajj, he went on, is a collective responsibility regardless of political affiliations.

‘The Hajj in contemporary times, is no longer a mere exercise of spirituality. In fact, Hajj has also become a tool of bilateral relations and cultural diplomacy,’ he said.

He charged Ghanaian pilgrims to conduct themselves as ambassadors of the country by being decent and diplomatic in their conduct.

Mildred Donkor, the prosecution’s third witness in the trial of former Director-General of National Signals Bureau (NSB), Kwabena Adu-Boahene and his wife, Angela Adjei-Boateng, yesterday confirmed to the court that she was not doing anything irregular or illegal in the assistance she offered to Adu-Boahene relative to cash withdrawals and deposit transfers.

She also confirmed to the court that Mr. Adu-Boahene relied on her ‘banking experience and expertise for transactions’ at the Universal Merchant Bank (UMB) during her tenure with the bank.

This assistance, she further confirmed, was part of her normal service offering as a banker, stressing that this assistance she provided to Mr. Adu-Boahene continued even after she had left UMB.

Mr. Adu-Boahene and his wife, Angela Adjei-Boateng, have been charged for allegedly stealing a total of GH$49.1 million from the state.

The two, as well as Advantage Solutions Limited, are facing a total of 11 counts of conspiracy to commit crime, stealing, using public office for profit, money laundering and causing financial loss to the state.

Mildred Donkor was initially charged alongside the accused persons but later converted into a prosecution witness.

The witness, who was the director of companies incorporated by the couple, while under cross-examination on Tuesday by Samuel Atta Akyea, counsel for the accused, confirmed that Mr. Adu-Boahene was introduced to her superiors at UMB.

She also confirmed under cross-examination that the accounts of BNC Communications Bureau Limited as well as Advantage Solutions Limited, two companies belonging to Adu-Boahene and its subsidiaries, were considered as prestige accounts at UMB.

She, however, said she could not tell whether her superiors paid special attention to the accounts because they were prestige accounts.

Meanwhile, the witness has testified that she had in her possession pre-signed cheque books for the accounts of BNC Communications Bureau Limited, as well as Advantage Solutions and its subsidiaries at UMB.

‘These cheque books are with me because when the accounts are opened, and the cheque books come, they are requested mostly in two copies, so one is kept with me and the other one is often given to A1 or A2,’ she said.

She further indicated that ‘they are presigned because getting Al or A2 to sign when he gives an instruction was difficult. He mostly sent people to me, and all his transactions were termed as urgent, both from Al and A2, and because he wanted his transactions to be acted upon and treated as urgent, he signed the cheque books for me to keep, so that when he orders or sends people to me, I issue it out.’

‘You did not apply any of the withdrawals you made for your personal use, did you?’ Mr. Atta-Akyea asked. ‘No my Lord,’ Mrs. Donkor responded.

‘Apart from the monies recorded in Exhibit G, your handwritten notebook and the cash withdrawals you testified that you gave to third parties, cash withdrawals you made were taken to A1 or Edith Ruby Adumuah at the National Security Office in Labone, not so?’ the lawyer further asked.

‘Not always,’ the witness answered.