In the news this week…

From the war on drugs to the resignation of the Ayew brothers and the NPP’s ‘true’ state of the nation address, GhanaWeb has captured the week’s top news story for you to enjoy at a glance.

DRUGS

On Monday, February 25 another major cocaine bust with a street value of $12 million by operatives of the Narcotic Control Board (NACOB) hit the headlines. The country’s biggest selling newspaper, Daily Graphic, carried the headline: ‘NACOB arrest two Nigerians over $12 million cocaine’. It revealed that the drug was estimated to be 200 kilogrammes and had been concealed in a 40-footer container filled with 1,946 boxes imported from South America.

Chief Sunny Ekechukwu Benji Eke, a 53-year-old Nigerian businessman, together with his alleged accomplice, James Elekechukwu, were arrested. Chief Eke has been described by international law enforcement agencies as a notorious drug baron who had been involved in several drug seizures in Brazil and Bolivia, the report said.

KUFUOR WADES INTO ENERGY DEBATE

Apparently frustrated by constant blackouts, former President John Agyekum Kufuor urged President John Mahama to seek help from Ghana’s neighbours in his efforts to solve the current water and power crisis. Mr Kufuor’s statement was widely considered by analysts as breaking his silence since the Mahama administration took over governance after last December’s elections.

Ghana’s power and water crises have deepened recently with utility service providers announcing an intensified rationing programme.

“President Mahama must demonstrate leadership by exploring all options as he struggles to resolve the crises,” the former AU chairman is reported to have said on Hot FM in Accra.

OPPOSITION ATTACKS

After series of postponements, members of the minority in parliament on Wednesday finally presented what it dubbed as the ‘True State of the Nation Address’, to counter the earlier delivery of the official State of the Nation address by President John Mahama on February 22.

The statement said the president’s fumbling with the energy crisis is the most dramatic failure of any leader in Ghana’s history as far as the management of power crisis was concerned.

The minority urged Ghanaians to blame the NDC’s administration because the situation could have been averted if the president had acted swiftly and prudently.

Minority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu read the statement to the media in Accra.

ACP APPOINTS MUHAMMED MUMUNI

Heads of state and governments of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) this week also endorsed Alhaji Muhammed Mumuni as the candidate to become the next Secretary-General of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of States.

He replaced Dr Ibn Chambas, who is also a Ghanaian.

Alhaji Mumuni’s nomination was tendered in by Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama at the 42nd Ordinary Session of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast.

CARDINAL TURKSON POSTERs POP UP IN ROME

Speculation of Ghana’s Cardinal Appiah Turkson being elected as the next Pope when 115 eligible cardinals enter the conclave (a closed, secret voting) lingered on in the week after the pope's resignation on Thursday.

The rumour reached its zenith when posters emerged in Rome Friday night.

If chosen, Cardinal Turkson would be the first non-European to lead the Catholic Church in more than 1,000 years.

AYEW BROTHERS RESIGN

The resignations of Dede Ayew and Jordan Ayew attracted widespread discussions in sports, as fans were sharply divided on the matter.

Whilst some downplayed their contribution to Black Stars others were of the opinion that the Ghana Football Association (GFA) should extend an olive branch to call a truce on the matter.

The decision by the sons of football legend Abedi Pele comes in the wake of their exclusion from Ghana’s squad during the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. Their resignations were contained in separate letters to the GFA.