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Court throws out Bishop Obinim …Orders him to pay GH¢1.6bn to the state
An Accra high court has dismissed an application in which Bishop Daniel Obinim, the Head Pastor of International Godsway Church is challenging the decision of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) requiring him to settle a tax liability of GH¢1,591,797.50 to the state.
Pastor Obinim, the applicant wanted the court to declare that the issuance and service on him to clear his tax liability is null and void.
In his application to invoke the judicial review jurisdiction of the High Court, the international pastor denied any tax obligation by virtue of the fact that he had fully paid all his tax liabilities.
The head pastor subsequently initiated the action pursuant to Section 42 of the Revenue Administration Act, 2016, Act 915 and joined the GRA and Ecobank Ghana Limited, a third party debtor as respondents.
But in its judgement delivered on May 13, 2020, Justice Doreen G. Boakye-Agyei, presiding, held that the GRA followed procedure in determining and notifying the applicant of his tax liability.
She said the applicant, not having followed the laid-down procedure to make his objections to be given a hearing as required by law, in the considered opinion of “this court is just setting up his own wilful failure and default as grounds for seeking judicial review”.
Justice Boakye-Agyei stated that the applicant, having admitted that he was served with notice of his tax liability should have followed the prescribed rules to have his grievances addressed.
“He cannot use his failure as a ground to seek judicial review. This instant case is not a proper and appropriate case for the court to exercise its powers of judicial review,” Justice Boakye-Agyei stated.
On November 15, 2018, the GRA served the applicant with a Notice of Tax Due requiring him to settle a tax liability of GH¢1,591,797.50 and followed with a final demand notice on June 17, 2019 requiring him to settle his tax obligation by June 28, 2019.
Dissatisfied with the decision of the GRA, the applicant filed a Notice of Tax Objection which was served on GRA on July 30, 2019.
The applicant’s reasons for his objections were inter alia, that he is the Head Pastor of the International Godsway Church, the church fully takes care of his expenses and he does not receive any remuneration from the church.
Pastor Obinim stated that his only source of income is from his shops which he has paid all tax liabilities for.
On February 13, 2020, the GRA proceeded to issue and serve on Ecobank, a third party Debtor Notice demanding Ecobank to pay GH¢1,591,797.50 deemed to be the applicant’s tax liability.
The applicant submitted that until and unless a decision is made and served on him personally, the GRA is estopped under the law to proceed to enforcement as far as the recoveries of the purported sum is concerned.
Pastor Obinim argued that the decision of the GRA to issue a third party Debtor Notice against the applicant was arbitrary, capricious and lawless and that justice would be best served if the applicant is given a fair hearing as far as the Notice of Objection dated July 29, 2019 is concerned.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
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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
