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Upper West Prisons Service hold colourful pull out ceremony for ADP Joseph Miyella
The Ghana Prison Service in the Upper West Region with the support of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) on Friday organised a colourful pull out ceremony for its retired Commander, Assistant Director of Prisons (ADP) Joseph Miyella after 21 years of dedicated service.
The ceremony which was held at the forecourt of the Wa Central Prison and saw the presence of commanders and personnel of other Security services and REGSEC members marked the official retirement of the Commander from the prison service.
The Regional Minister, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih eulogising the retired Commander, described him as a dedicated personnel of the service who distinguished himself amongst his colleagues.
He stated that his exit from the service would create a huge gap in the REGSEC but was confident that a good replacement would be brought to fill in the gap.
“Security is a shared responsibility so we all have roles to play hence we welcome your rich contribution as a former member of REGSEC”, he told the retired Commander.
ADP Miyella who was enlisted into the service in 2002 and assumed responsibility as the Regional Commander on October 21, 2022, described his service to the Region as a sucess.
He said in order to meet the feeding needs of inmates, he supervised the creation of three vegetable gardens and also advised families and relatives of inmates to bring raw foodstuff to their relations in order to support regular feeding.
He mentioned that a marketing team was instituted under his tutelage to solicit for support from benevolent individuals, groups and organisations to enhance the wellbeing of the prison inmates.
ADP Miyella who was the first prison officer in the country to be deployed to the United Nations MIssions in Haiti in the Carribeans brought his experience to bear in managing the inmates by liaising with the Narcotics Control commission to hold weekly sensitisation meetings with inmates on drug abuse and addiction.
Through his initiative, he mentioned that support was garnered from a non governmental organisation, Sahara Africa for Change for the construction of two more cells to ease congestion at the prison.
He commended various stakeholders for supporting his time in office and recommended that same support was rendered his predecessor.
Citations and gifts were presented to the retired Commander from both retired and active personnel of the service as well as REGSEC and relations. Significant among them was a butchered dog presented to the Commander by the Dagaaba community of the service in the region as a token of their appreciation to the Commander.
FROM LYDIA DARLINGTON FORDJOUR, WA
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Prof Alidu Seidu files nomination for Tamale Central seat
The newly elected parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Tamale Central, Prof Alidu Seidu, has submitted his nomination forms to the Electoral Commission.
As of 10:00 a.m. today, he was the only person who had filed to contest the seat.
Nomination of candidates will close at the end of the day.
Associate Professor and Head of the Political Science Department at the University of Ghana Legon, Prof. Alidu Seidu won the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primaries in the Tamale Central constituency with a landslide victory.
The elections, supervised by the party’s Elections and IT Directorate in the Northern Region, saw Prof. Seidu poll 840 votes out of the total valid ballots cast.
His closest contender, Lawyer Hanan Gundadow Abdul-Rahaman, secured 536 votes.
The other aspirants could not make significant gains, with Dr. Seidu Fiter obtaining 44 votes, Aliu Abdul-Hamid 23 votes, and the rest recording fewer than 10 votes each.
In all, 1,500 ballots were cast, with 6 ballots rejected and 7 spoilt ballots recorded.
The results were signed and declared by Dr. Arnold Mashud Abukari, NDC Northern Regional Director of Elections and IT.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) held parliamentary primaries in Tamale Central to choose a candidate for the upcoming by-election following the death of the sitting Member of Parliament, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed. Dr. Mohammed, who also served as Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, tragically died in a military helicopter crash in the Adansi Akrofuom District on August 6, 2025, alongside seven others.
His passing left the Tamale Central seat vacant, as required by Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
The Electoral Commission has scheduled the by-election for September 30, 2025. While the NDC moved quickly to open nominations and vet aspirants, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) announced it would not contest the seat, citing the need to respect the somber circumstances and promote national unity.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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Ghana to locally refine its gold starting October 2025 – Sammy Gyamfi
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board, Sammy Gyamfi, has announced that plans are far advanced for the establishment of a state-owned gold refinery in the country.
Speaking at the 2025 Minerals and Mining Convention, Mr Gyamfi said the refinery will process locally mined gold into bullion instead of exporting it in its raw state.
According to him, it is unacceptable that Ghana, despite being a leading gold producer in Africa, continues to export raw gold known as dore.
He explained that the Gold Board, working with the Bank of Ghana and local refineries, will from October 2025 begin refining gold locally.
He also disclosed that an ultramodern assay laboratory will be built to ensure international standards in testing gold quality.
Mr Gyamfi noted that the refinery will be wholly state-owned and will help Ghana move away from raw mineral exports to value addition.
This, he said, will boost foreign exchange earnings, create jobs, and position Ghana as a hub for gold refining and jewellery production in Africa.
The CEO stressed that the project forms part of government’s strategy to ensure the country benefits fully from its natural resources and to transform the mining sector into a driver of economic growth.
By: Jacob Aggrey
