Popular dancehall musician Shatta Wale has been disqualified from competing this year’s edition of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA), the award’s board announced at a press briefing Tuesday evening.
The VGMA board said though Shatta Wale picked and submitted his works to compete in this year’s event, he did not complete the processes which will make his forms complete and eligible for consideration as at the time nominations and entries were officially closed.
The decision, taken by the board, therefore, was to go ahead with their work for this year while waiting for Shatta Wale to complete the processes he himself had started.
One of the terms and conditions of the competition and clearly on the nomination forms reads: “The VGMA board has the right to dismiss, disqualify or bar any artiste who abuses the scheme, the board or any of its members or the organising body with or without any just cause or puts the brand into any kind of disrepute.
Charterhouse Ghana runs as open door policy where all grievances can be channelled and resolved without any such invectives being hurled.”
The VGMA board members who addressed the press conference were Theresa Ayoade; executive director of Charterhouse, Francis Doku, George Quaye, Nii Ayittey Hammond and Diana Hopson.
Other members present at the briefing were Nat Brew, MUSIGA President Bice Obour Kuffour, Mark Okraku Mantey and Doreen Andoh.
Shatta Wale has consistently described the board and organisers of the VGMA with all manner of vulgar words to an extent that he was sued for defamation.
Even after submitting his forms this year, Wale had said he does not need the award.
NOMINATIONS
Mrs Theresa Ayoade announced that nominees for the 2016 event would be announced on Friday, February 26 from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm on an hourly basis after which a grand nominees’ party would be held on same night.
Live FM, Starr FM, Kasapa FM, GhOne TV, Empire FM in Takoradi, Ultimate FM in Kumasi andAgoo FM in Nkawkaw as well as all of
’s social media pages would be used as channels of announcing the nominees on Friday, February 26.
The party would be held on April 16 at Ho in the Volta Region and then on May 7, the main awards event would be held at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC).
Mrs Ayoade also announced that unlike previous years, the industry awards would be held on same night as the main event, and that the ‘Gospel Album’ category had been scrapped, meaning all albums would compete under the ‘Album of the Year’ category.