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Be cautious of entrusting daughters to male teachers for private classes – UWR DVVSU
The Regional Commander of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Upper West Regional Police Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police ((ASP) MrAdongo Apiiya has advised parents against entrusting their daughters to male teachers for private classes either at home or at the residence of the teacher.
He explained that such instances could potentially ignite negative thoughts on the part of either the student or pupil or the teacher and lead to amorous relationship between the two.
ASP Apiiya gave the advice at a meeting at Duong on Sexual and genger-based Violence (SGBV) under the auspices of the Department of Gender in the region with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The meeting on Tuesday brought together participants comprising students and workers from various communities around Duong in the Nadowli-Kaleo District to learn more about SGBV with regard to prevention and dealing with the trauma as victims.
He said that some men were quite cunning and could get attracted to children, regardless of their age and possibly defile or rape them.
“Before you realise, your daughter would be pregnant and she would have been used for biology practical by the teacher.”
“I am not in any way discouraging you from hiring private teachers for your wards but I am saying you should do so with caution; the teacher must come home when at least one parent in the house and the parent present should make it a point to regularly check on thechild to see how the studies are going”, he said.
ASP Apiiya stated that it was fatal to trust people, even those closer to the family and that the Unit had recorded defilement cases involving very young children with close relations and friends being the perpetrators.
“I am not saying we should suspect private teachers, I am only saying that you need to take precaution as a parent because some of them may not even force the children but would succeed in luring them to get into consensual relationships with them for sexual gain”, he warned.
He cautioned against allowing female students to visit male teachers at home in the name of being the teacher’s friend or favourite in class.
“It pays to be security conscious; if the teacher likes the child because she is respectful or studious, it should stay within the four walls of the school, he has no business sending the child to deliver books and other items to his home”, he said.
He called on parents to monitor their wards in school to ensure that they were not taken advantage of by unprincipled teachers and also encouraged the parents to educate their wards to report advances made towards them by teachers for prompt action to be taken.
For her part, the Director at the Department of Gender, Mrs Chairty Banye called on school girls to also avoid unnecessary socialization with teachers.
“These days, our children are not safe, even with teachers of the same sex because we cannot tell their sexual orientation so it becomes very delicate for school children out there and the onus lie on parents to keep their wards updated on these trends to help protect them”, she added.
From Lydia Darlington Forjdjour, Duong
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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
