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We’ll not support EC’s proposal to change election date – Mahama
The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has stated that the party will not support the proposal for a change in the date for the 2024 elections from December to November.
“We [NDC] do not believe that this is being proposed in good faith,” he maintained.
The NDC flagbearer made the remarks while opening the Minority caucus meeting in Ho on Saturday (February 10).
Mr. Mahama said the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) was sensing clear defeat, and had, therefore, begun scheming to undermine the credibility of the elections.
That lack of preparedness was clearly evident in the District Assembly elections held in December last year when elementary lapses and shocking logistical shortfalls painted a picture of a commission which was simply not able to undertake the task of managing elections, Mr Mahama said.
“All indications point to a resounding victory for the NDC in the 2024 elections and an unmistakable rejection of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government by the people of Ghana upon whom they have heaped very poor governance,” Mr Mahama added.
Further, he said, corruption, maladministration, nepotism, arrogance of power, incompetence, and gleeful waste of state resources by this government are all set to come to an end at the polls later this year, prompting the NPP to look for fraudulent means to twists the elections to favour them.
Continuous registration
“Regarding the issue of continuous registration, as canvassed by the Electoral Commission, we demand that the process must necessarily include a system that enables all political parties and relevant stakeholders to possess the capacity to monitor that exercise in real time, to avoid fraud and exploitation to the undue advantage of any party,” the NDC flag bearer insisted.
Mr Mahama commended the Minority in Parliament for living up to expectation by putting in valiant efforts to check the excesses of this government.
“The composition of this eighth Parliament under the Fourth Republic placed you at the centre of history and brought in its wake, a unique responsibility and burden of expectation never witnessed.
Mr Mahama reminded the caucus members not to lose sight of the fact that they, as the Minority in Parliament, had become the last bulwark between an overbearing, desperate and non-performing government, and the people.
“Ghanaians are counting on you to secure them against poor governance and keep this government in check” said Mr Mahama.
He noted that the people of Ghana decided to produce a hung Parliament in which none of the major parties had dominated the house in the recent past, with a clear advantage.
That unprecedented arrangement reflected years of demands by Ghanaians for a strong and assertive legislative arm of government that was truly independent of the excessively powerful executive, Mr Mahama stated.
He said it also reflected a desire for greater scrutiny of the executive and more efficient exercise of your oversight functions.
Meanwhile, the former president said the 24hour economy policy, which had found resonance with the generality of the people, together with the over sixty other policy options he had tabled, so far, would ensure an improvement in the living conditions of the people and bring back the severely damaged economy on track and pave the way for sustained prosperity for all, and not a selected few.
Ghana Card
Touching on the Ghana Card, Mr Mahama cautioned the Electoral Commission if it still hankers on it after disenfranchising sections of our population at all costs through a misguided insistence on its use as the only means of identification for registration, then it had better abandon that idea because we in the NDC will offer the stiffest resistance.
At the moment, the Ghana Card was being brandished more as a political tool around which all manner of schemes were being fashioned towards elections, he noted.
Mr Mahama insisted there was the need to allow sufficient time for its full integration into the way of life of Ghanaians before that kind of unhelpful exclusion of all other legitimately acquired, credible and time-tested forms of identification was implemented.
He said Ghana was now so yoked with arguably, the worst government in its history in the shape of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government.
“They have been so bad; their own poster boy is attempting an inexplicable and contriving separation between himself and happenings in the very government he was touted as the brain behind, for purely electoral purposes,” observed Mr Mahama.
He said from a position where they inherited an economy to which stability had been restored after a brief period of turbulence occasioned by unavoidable headwinds, NPP had squandered its way into a ditch from which it had become impossible to emerge without imposing deep suffering on the people.
Source: Graphic.com
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
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Intercity STC Coaches Limited has interdicted a driver captured in a viral video allegedly hitting a Sprinter bus during an overtaking manoeuvre at Pokuase before driving away from the scene.
In a public notice, the company described the driver’s conduct as unacceptable, stressing that it did not reflect the safety standards and professionalism it upholds.
Management said it had commenced an immediate investigation into the incident and identified the driver, who has been interdicted pending the outcome of the disciplinary process.
The company added that it was awaiting an official report from the Pokuase Police Command to help establish the facts surrounding the incident.
STC reaffirmed its commitment to passenger safety and responsible road use, while thanking members of the public for bringing the incident to its attention.
Management assured the public that appropriate action would be taken following the investigation.
By: Jacob Aggrey
