President Akufo-Addo’s charge to the Electoral Commission (EC) to deliver a free and fair election on December 7, this year and the directive to pay $45,000 owed Ghanaian boxing legend, David Kotey Poison are some of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Wednesday.
The Graphic reports that moments after filing his nomination to contest the presidential election on Tuesday, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo charged the Electoral Commission (EC) to deliver a free and fair election on December 7, this year.
“Elections are not meant to be decided by you, or the officials that work here. You are the referees of the contest,” he told the EC.
President Akufo-Addo, who is seeking re-election on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), declared: “I am not interested in any crooked results and I do not want to be a President elected by deceit.”
The filling of nomination forms by presidential and parliamentary aspirants was officially opened by the EC last Monday October 5 to run for five days.
No aspirant showed up on the first day of the exercise, but the second day witnessed intense activity; apart from President Akufo-Addo, two others, an independent presidential aspirant, Mr Alfred Kwame Asiedu Walker, and the flag bearer of the Ghana Union Movement (GUM), Rev. Christian Kwabena Andrew. also presented their nomination forms.
Presidential Akufo-Addo who unseated the incumbent John Dramani Mahama in a historic victory in the 2016 election, said it was refreshing that the EC had given considerable confidence to majority of Ghanaians ahead of the polls.
The newspaper says that Ghanaian boxing legend, David Kotey Poison, says he is a happy man and finally at peace after President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had directed that an amount of $45,000, owed him by the state be paid to him on “compassionate grounds”, a close associate of the boxer has revealed.
A letter dated September 28, 2020 and addressed to the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Isaac Asiamah; the Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante, stated that President Akufo-Addo had approved the payment of the money to Ghana’s first world champion. It was a response to a letter by the ministry last June indicating there were enough grounds for the state to refund the money claimed by the man affectionately called D.K. Poison.
A journalist and close associate of the retired boxer, Mr. Ekow Asmah, told the Daily Graphic that D.K. Poison was overjoyed when he broke the news to him yesterday about the President’s directive. He said the 69-year-old said he was a happy man and was at peace as his long battle for justice had finally yielded positive result.
“Then I broke the news to him this morning, D.K. Poison broke into praise of God for making it happen for him. ‘Oh, this is the work of God’, he acknowledged, almost in sorrow, given the history of his plea for the refund dating back over four decades”, Mr Asmah said.
D.K. Poison became Ghana’s first world champion with a split points victory against the feared Reuben Olivares to claim the World Boxing Council (WBC) featherweight title on September 20, 1975 in Inglewood, California.
Six years ago during the Presidential Commission into Ghana’s 2014 FIFA World Cup campaign, the former champion narrated to the Justice Senyo Dzamfe-led panel how he had been rendered penniless after fruitless chase for his money. The Commission report also made an appeal for the government to look into the case to bring a closure to it.
The Times reports that the Spanish government has presented vehicles and Information Communication Technology (ICT) equipment to the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) and the Ghana Police Service (GPS) to enhance their operations.
Comprising six Mitsubishi L200 cross-country vehicles, 23 desktop computers and 10 printers, the donation, according to the Spanish government, is to support Ghana to manage irregular migration and other cross border crime.
These were contained in a statement issued by Superintendent Michael Amoako-Atta, the Head of Public Affairs of GIS and copied to the Ghanaian Times in Accra yesterday.
It said the Spanish Ambassador to Ghana, Alicia Rico Perez del Pulgar, presenting the items, noted that the fight against irregular migration and transnational organised crime required collective effort as it was a transnational challenge that needed to be tackled by countries of origin, transit and destination.
It said the ambassador described the donation as a demonstration of Spain’s commitment to strengthening the existing relationship between the two countries and was hopeful that the donation would serve its purpose.
GIK/APA