News
National Chief Imam names Clemence Gyato as Peace Ambassador
National Chief Imam Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu on November 28, 2020, named Clemence Gyato as Peace Ambassador.
Gyato, a Master’s Degree holder in Conflict, Peace and Security and currently a PhD student, is renowned among the country’s Zongo youth and lauded for his efforts in conflict resolution, notably in the protracted Alavanyo-Nkonya dispute as well as discord between Hohoe natives and Zongo youth.
Announcing Gyato’s appointment, Sheikh Sharubutu said his office had “monitored Mr Gyato’s involvement in peacebuilding efforts in various parts of the country,” for which reason he was selected.
In his new role, Gyato is expected to amplify and coordinate harmony among the country’s youth, particularly in the build up to the 2020 polls.
In his acceptance speech, Mr Gyato cited a life-changing interaction with a victim of the Somali war whose account led him to the understanding that “no one is safe within a community or society riddled with insecurity. And no one filled with conflict, despair, and anxiety rises to the zenith of any godly profession. So, I set out to do this one thing: be at peace with myself and with all.”
The maxim, Gyato said, had been pivotal to his vision. He observed that his appointment was testament to the fact that, his efforts were being keenly observed by leadership.
“This honour bestowed on me for my little, submarine operations within the peace space is something I will cherish considerably.
“Election-related violence has destroyed many African countries. Ghana has escaped this unfortunate conundrum and it is my expectation that the 2020 elections will be no different”.
“It is time we saw peace neither as a prelude to, nor an addendum to elections. It is an ever-constant pre-requisite for personal, familial, and national progress. Insofar as each person values their peace of mind, it then behoves us to value the peace of our brother, friend, relative, colleague, political opponents, and/ or even perceived enemies,” he said.
Mr Gyato pledged to continue his mission to be at peace with, all, “speak and act peacefully to all men.”
“I undertake to accept diversity as strength and use diversity to build a peaceful society. I undertake to do more towards building a peaceful Ghana,” he added.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Ibrahim Cudjoe Quaye, who chaired Gyato’s investiture, Madina MP Hon. Abu-Bakar Saddique Boniface, as well as NDC aspiring Member of Parliament for Madina, Lawyer Francis-Xavier Sosu also pledged peace before and after election 2020.
The Speaker of the Algerian Parliament, Mr. Azouz Nasri, has arrived in Accra to take part in the Next Steps High-Level Consultative Conference on the implementation of the landmark United Nations Resolution on the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans.
He was received at the Jubilee Lounge, Kotoka International Airport, by Ghana’s First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Bernard Ahiafor.
The 3-day conference runs from June 17–19, 2026 in Accra. It will bring together parliamentary leaders, diplomats, civil society, and other key stakeholders to reflect on the implications of the UN Resolution for Africans and people of African descent worldwide.
Organisers say the meeting is aimed at advancing a coordinated global framework to strengthen advocacy around the Resolution and provide practical guidance for its implementation across member states.
The Resolution is described as a historic step toward acknowledging the transatlantic slave trade and addressing its lasting impact, with this conference marking one of the first high-level efforts to move it from declaration to action.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
Aspiring National Chairman for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Awentami Paul Afoko, has stated that the party has a unique opportunity to annex power in the 2028 elections.
According to him, the one person who has been on Ghana’s ballot paper for several elections will not be on the ballot paper in the 2028 elections, paving the way for the NPP to properly market its flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who is already a formidable force to reckon with and will go ahead to win the polls.
He argued that voters already know him, he’s battle-tested and ready to win.
He reiterated that the NPP will have a well-marketed candidate in the 2028 election and just as the party did in 2016 when it annexed power from a sitting government, the same can be done.
The Former NPP National Chairman, however, noted that this can be possible if the NPP unites as a unit and approach the elections with all the seriousness it deserves to ensure that its quest for victory does not become a mirage.
Mr Awentami Paul Afoko made this known when he met with Regional Executives, Patrons and Elders of the party in the Volta, Oti and Eastern Regions yesterday.
“For the first time we have a unique opportunity. At the time I put the New Plan for Power in place, we knew that the sitting president could go again and if he won another term, we would sit in opposition for twelve years.
We had to put a plan in place to make sure we come to power and we came to power. This time around, he will not be on the ballot paper and this offers us a unique opportunity, but without unity we will not get there,” he stated.
“As for unity, it is not negotiable. You can’t sit here and look at the lady sitting next to you and say I don’t like her so we can’t work together. We are working together for power, and if we let emotions get in the way, we lose” he said.
“Those of you who are old enough to remember Muhammad Ali the boxer, he is in the ring with you, he’s talking and calling you names then you get emotional and he takes advantage. Emotions won’t give us power. I didn’t get anything so I won’t support; no, let that go because it is in the past,” he noted.
Afoko, who is pushing his 3R Agenda of Reunite, Rebuild, and Recapture power, said the party must adopt a clear message to win back the confidence of Ghanaians and believes, with Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, whom he described as the right candidate will guarantee the NPP victory in the 2028 polls.
“For years I chose to work quietly behind the scenes, supporting the NPP in private,” Afoko said.
“But recent developments have compelled me to step forward. We need to get our party back into winning ways, and that starts with unity of purpose,” Afoko reiterated.
He framed the upcoming period as a test of whether NPP politics would mature or remain stuck in cycles of blame, but was optimistic that everyone who loves the party would come on board to realize the goal of making Dr Mahamudu Bawumia the next President of Ghana.
By: Jacob Aggrey
