The Abudu royals in Dagbon in the Northern Region have petitioned the three eminent chiefs mediating the chieftaincy dispute, reaffirming their temporary boycott of proceedings at the Manhyia palace in Kumasi. The Abudu royals on Thursday refused to honour an invitation by the committee, for fresh talks, on the implementation of the roadmap to peace in Dagbon. In a petition cited by Citi News and signed by their Secretary, the Abudu royals accused the three eminent chiefs committee of bias. They also reiterated the urgent need for renovation of the old Gbewaa palace in Yendi, ceremonial ground for the final funeral rites of the late two Dagbon overlords. Below is the petition: THE ABUDU FAMILY’S TEMPORARY BOYCOTT OF THE COMMITTEE OF EMINENT CHIEFS MEDIATION PROCESS ON 28TH JANUARY, 2016. The Abudu Royal Family has served notice to the Committee of Eminent Chiefs (CEC) on their inability to avail themselves for the committee’s sittings for lack of consistency until c...

Saudi Royal Crest  Saudi Arabia's interior ministry has banned 50 names they argue contradict the culture or religion of the Kingdom, according to reports by local media. Parents in the Kingdom will reportedly no longer be able to call their children by names such as Linda, Alice, Elaine or Binyamin (Arabic for Benjamin) after the civil affairs department at the ministry issued a list of the prohibited names. Binyamin is believed in Islam to be the son of Prophet Jacob, but is also the name of the current Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Some names on the list are allegedly banned by the interior ministry because they are considered “blasphemous,” non-Arabic or non-Islamic, or contradictory to the kingdom’s culture or religion, Gulf News has reported. The ban was also allegedly justified by the ministry because some of the names were deemed foreign or "inappropriate". Other sets of forbidden names include those with royal connotations, such ...

The Northern Regional Security Council has intensified security presence in Yendi and at the Gbewaa Palaces to avert a possible clash between the rival Abudu and Andani factions. The decision comes after members of the Andani Royal family served notice that they will confront any violence by their rival Abudu faction. The two families have been involved in a chieftaincy feud in Dagbon in the region for ages. The King of Dagombas and the overlord of Dagbon, Yaa Naa Yakubu Andani II was killed on March 27, 2002 when clashes broke out between the two feuding Gates of Dagbon Kingship, the Andanis and the Abudus. The Abudu family last week issued an ultimatum to government and the Committee of Eminent Chiefs mediating the dispute to allow them to bury their late chief, Naa Mahamadu Abdulai at the palace next week.  (Click here to read it) The faction warned it would explore all means to occupy the Gbewaa palace to perform the funeral rites of their late chief, if the Andan...

A cross section of the Andani family   The Andani Royal Family in Dabgon has declared it is ready to engage the Abudu Family in yet another war over the latter’s notice to forcibly enter the Gbewaa Palace to perform the funeral rites of their late Regent, Naa Abdulai Mahamadu IV. The Abudu Family in a mammoth press conference on 11 January, 2016 in Yendi threatened government and the Asantehene-led committee with a two-week ultimatum to enforce processes that would grant them access to the Gbewaa Palace or they shall use other means to gain access to the palace. “We are compelled under the circumstances to serve notice that if by Monday, January 25 2016 there is no renovation works going on at the Gbewaa Palace for the two funerals we shall advice ourselves. We intend to explore all means necessary to gain access to the Gbewaa Palace to perform Naa Mahamadu Abdulai’s funeral.” With just a day to the deadline, the Andani side has issued it re...

Tension is said to be building up in Dagbon as the Abudus are demanding access to the Gbewaa Palace to enable them perform the final funeral rites Naa Mahamadu Abdulai. They have issued a 2-week ultimatum to government and the eminent chiefs mediating the Dagbon issue at Manhyia to grant them access to the palace or they will advise themselves. Vahindi Naa Dr. Nantogma Mahama at a press conference in Yendi stated that they will advice themselves accordingly if at the expiration of the period the two bodies fail to heed to their concerns. “We shall not be held responsible for any situation that happens thereafter in the area if government and the chiefs continue listen to the misguided counsel of Kuga Naa”, he stated. At the last sitting of eminent chiefs at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi in December last year, it was agreed that a substantive overlord of Dagbon will be enskinned by the close of February 2016. Sources revealed that the three eminent chiefs led by Asantehene...

At least three people have been killed in the latest outbreak of yellow fever in the West Gonja District of the Northern Region . Twelve more people are said to be suffering from the disease in the area. Yellow fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes. It can kill up to 50 percent of victims if adequate treatment is not administered. The Health Ministry has said in a statement that the public must be wary when travelling to the Northern Region district. The ministry says the disease comes with fever, jaundice, muscle pain with prominent backache, and headache. There may also be bleeding tendencies. Symptoms appear after an incubation period of 3 to 6 days following the bite of the mosquito. The Health Ministry has advised that people showing symptoms must report to the nearest health facility. Public Relations Manager of the Health Ministry, Tony Goodman, efforts to contain the disease are on course. “We have officers there ...

The world maps of my youth were always flat. They depicted an Earth that was stretched and distorted, with no topography, no shaded relief. The only markings were the names of continents and oceans, the names of countries and their capital cities, the names of rivers and mountain ranges. According to those maps, the places I knew best did not exist. They were swaths of light-colored space with no definition, nothing to show the vast forests or plains, the huge scarp that my brother Alfred and I used to scale as children so we could hunt. I would look at the other unlabeled areas of the map and wonder what and who existed in that space. There has always been something about the Earth that has beguiled me. I used to study the maps that were posted on the walls of my classrooms and printed in the pages of the atlas my father kept in his study. After our nation’s independence, my father, Emmanuel Adama Mahama, was the first Member of the Ghanaian Parliament from the Northern...

Mark Woyongo,  Interior Minister Mr Mark Woyongo, the Minister of Interior, has proposed a five - year presidential tenure of office for the country to ensure that the winning party fully executes its development agenda. Mr Woyongo, also the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Navrongo Central, made the proposal in an interview with the GNA after his return from Burkina Faso where in had gone to witness the swearing-in of Mr Roch Marc Christian Kabore , the new president. “The five years period for the tenure of office of the Presidency will be very ideal for Ghana. There is the need to review the constitutional provision to create a room for that, just like our neigbouring country Burkina Faso which has five years under its constitutional provision for her tenure of the Presidency”, the Interior Minister proposed. Mr Woyongo argued that with the four year period for the Presidential tenure of office in Ghana, it would be very difficult for any political party who emer...

As New Year marks a new beginning, I convey my warm compliments to everyone on commencement of New Year. In this New Year 2016, there lies a greater need to launch a consolidated fight against illiteracy, terrorism and corruption. Putting in my best efforts and collaborating with you, I promise from my side to stand up for this noble duty. In the New Year, I wish the killing of innocent lives under any pretext (religion, ethnicity, color, sex etc) be stopped and the people be empowered with education to enable them to do their business in a peaceful and dignified climate. I also wish the dawn of 2016 to bring the prolonged transition facing the country to an end and steer us ahead towards peace, stability and prosperity. May this New Year inspire us to spread love, tolerance and compassion in the country and around the world. I wish you all a fascinating New Year, 2016!!!