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TOR now a mess, Board must be dissolved – Petroleum Chemical Workers Union
The General Transport and Petroleum Chemical Workers Union has raised concerns about the state of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), alleging mismanagement by the Board of Directors and opposing the proposed lease deal with Torentco Asset Management Group.
In an interview on Eyewitness News on Citi FM, the Union’s National Chairman, Bernard Owusu, took a dig at the TOR Board for failing to get a “genuine partner” to revive the refinery and called for its dissolution.
“The Board of Tema Oil Refinery has exhibited some sort of incompetent attitude that we have been complaining about for the past 18 months, and it seems like authorities are not adhering to our call. A board that has been instituted for almost 2 years, has not been able to get a very genuine partner to take over the affairs of the refinery to ensure that the the refinery runs smoothly,” Owusu said.
He lamented that activities at the refinery are now in limbo due to the inadequacies of the Board.
“You heard a few months ago that electricity at the refinery was shut down. The place is a mess as we speak. We are supposed to run TOR efficiently by policy and guidance from the board and management, but as we speak now, the refinery is in limbo,” he bemoaned.
Owusu also kicked against the Torentco deal, stressing that Torentco lacks the capacity and technical know-how to run the affairs of the refinery.
“We have chanced upon a report, and it has clearly stated that this company called Torentco Asset Management lacks the capacity, and technical how to run the affairs of the refinery. So we made a request to the board, through the Ministry of Energy and Trades Union Congress to send our appeal to the authorities that the company that the board is bent on working with has issues.
“Only for us to be told that this same company that was formed last year, has now changed its form to another company called Tema Energy Processing Limited. And it has floated shares and out of that the refinery workers have been given some part of the shares of 20%. And 40% of the shares have been given to Torentco and 40% given to another company”.
Under the terms of the lease, Torentco Asset Management Group will pay $22 million to lease the refinery for six years. The group is expected to refine up to 8 million barrels annually and will be required to pay an annual rent of $1 million, along with an additional monthly rent of $1.067 million.
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
