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Fire destroys 200 structures at Makola Shopping Mall
200 makeshift structures at the Makola Shopping Mall in Accra were destroyed by fire on Friday night.
It took personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) close to four hours to extinguish the inferno with the assistance of reinforcements.
The fire started around 11:24 p.m. on October 20, and no casualties were recorded.
The cause of the fire is unknown, but authorities have temporarily shut down the shopping mall for investigations. Jewellery, perfumes, wigs, cosmetics, hair products, and dresses were some of the items destroyed by the fire.
Narrating the incident to journalists, the Deputy Director of Operations of GNFS, Chief Fire Officer, Kofi Forson, said over 3,000 stores were salvaged from burning.
“Around 11:24 pm, we received a call about a fire outbreak at the Makola Shopping Mall. Quickly our team from Makola despatched to the scene and within two minutes they arrived at the scene. Upon arrival, they realised the fire was fast spreading, the fire involved the ground floor, the first floor and some parts of the Mall, which dealt in perfumes and hair products. Quickly, we called for re-enforcement, and we ended up relying on nine fire tenders to help with the fire under control around 4:52 a.m. The building is very close to the ECG sub-station, and we were able to salvage the fire from spreading to the ECG sub-station and also salvage the fire from spreading to about 3,000 structures.”
He added, “Unfortunately, we lost about 200 structures to the fire, there were lots of explosions. Many people had gas cylinders in there. The things they dealt in like perfume were very much combustible and fuelled the fire with explosions. Our men risked their lives because there was some slight building collapse here and there. It was a daunting task, but we risked it to ensure there was no reignition of fire and that the fire was totally extinguished.”
He underscored the difficulty they experienced in attempting to douse the fire.
“The challenge we had was accessibility to the trouble spot because of the makeshift structures had almost blocked all the alleys, making it difficult to fight the fire. People had stocked gas cylinders in there and it kept exploding. They forced open the padlocks locking the main entrance to the Mall, using special equipment, and got access to the spot where the incident occurred,” he explained.
Source: Citinewsroom.com
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Focus on more pressing issues like Galamsey, not hate speech – Ellen Ama Daaku to Mahama
An aide to former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia,Ellen Ama Daaku has advised President John Dramani Mahama to shift his attention from social media hate speech to more urgent national issues such as illegal mining.
Speaking in an interview, she noted that the President’s recent comments about tracking the IP addresses of people who spread hate speech were unnecessary.
According to her, President Mahama must first define what he considers to be hate speech before seeking to punish people for it.
Ms. Daaku argued that the President himself had benefitted from hate speech and social media attacks in the past when he was in opposition.
She said even during his time in government, he described his opponents and their tribesmen in unpalatable terms, which later drew complaints from former President Nana Akufo-Addo to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
She stressed that harsh criticism of leaders on social media should not automatically be considered hate speech, adding that former leaders, including former President Nana Akufo-Addo had all been subjected to it.
“He is only feeling what Nana Akufo-Addo went through for eight years,” she remarked.
While acknowledging the need to regulate misconduct online, Ms. Daaku insisted that going after social media activists should not be a priority.
She noted that many political activists, including herself, had been insulted and attacked online but never called for arrests.
She concluded that President Mahama should focus his energy on solving pressing problems such as galamsey and the economy instead of concentrating on critics on social media.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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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
