The Ministry of Local Government has ordered the Births and Deaths registry to reverse their ban on the registering of names which they have branded as ‘titles’.
The hugely unpopular policy said parents cannot register their children with names such as ‘Nii’, ‘Nana’, ‘Togbe’ and many other names which often accompany local names.
However, after huge public outcry and a summons by Parliament to explain the reasoning behind the decision, the Local Government Minister, Hajia Alima Mahama, said her ministry has ordered the registry to disregard the policy.
According to her, the ban was based on a recommendation made in a 2009 ‘Standard Operating Procedure’ (SOP) manual.
However, according to her, she has ordered them the registry to disregard the recommendation.
“Considering that the SOP serves as an operational guideline for the registration of births and deaths, coupled with the sentiment expressed by the public, the acting Registrar of Births and Deaths Registry has been directed to review the SOP and further directed that names such as Paapa, Nana, Nii, and so on as given by the parents should be accepted for registration,” Mahama told members on Parliament during her appearance Tuesday.