Rex Omar's call on the yet-to-be constituted board of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMAs) not to lift the ban placed on Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale has attracted a jab from Stonebwoy as the artiste is asking the veteran to rather focus on lifting the image of the Ghana Music Rights Organisation which he is the chairman.

Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale were banned indefinitely from the awards scheme, stripped of all the awards they won last year and asked to return the plaques after they disrupted the 20th edition of the event. 

As the industry readies for this year's edition of the awards, conversation about whether or not they should be considered has gained prominence on social media as well as on traditional media.

Rex Omar speaking on 3FM had argued that the two artistes are not bigger than the Ghanaian music industry, hence the ban should not be lifted.

He noted that the industry is guided by rules and after their fracas at the 2019 edition of the awards, the ban should serve as a deterrent to other artistes.

“They are not bigger than the industry…if we allow them to be bigger than the industry, then we don’t have an industry, forget it. Principles must stand," he posited.

Reacting to the suggestion, Stonebwoy indicated on 3FM's Showbiz 927 that Rex Omar's concern should rather be how to man the affairs of GHAMRO as right owners are yet to duly benefit from their sweat since his assumption of office.

"I believe he is the boss of GHAMRO or whatever it is. He has work to be done at GHAMRO. He can actually leave VGMA matter for VGMA except he is part of the board," he told host MzGee.

Earlier, Head of Public Events of the company Robert Klah said the inclusion or otherwise of Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale will be determined after the board is reconstituted.

With January 31, 2020 as the deadline for filing of nominations, Mr. Klah mentioned in an interview with MzGee on 3FM’s ShowBuzz that the board will be reconstituted before the deadline. 

“As it stands, the resolve of the board still holds. When the board reconstitutes, they can decide whether the ban should be lifted or not,” he said.

“Reconstitution of the board is happening this month. Submissions are going to end on 31st but it doesn’t necessarily mean that work on nomination ends because when the board is working and they feel some particular music has done well, they can find out if submissions have been made and if submissions have not been made, sometimes, they reach out to the persons involved just to find out if they are willing to tender in. These are some of the things that happen in the background.” 

The scuffle

While Stonebwoy was up the VGMA stage taking his award, Shatta Wale, his rival on the music scene, was seen approaching the stage with a host of others presumed to be his fans. 

Stonebwoy who felt threatened, pulled out a handgun handed him on stage by one of his entourage, a scene that sparked a scuffle between the two artistes and their followers.

The awards event was temporarily halted and the topmost two awards for the event, Most Popular Song of the Year and Artiste of the Year, were deferred due to the melee. 

Both Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale were invited by the police for questioning the next day and have since been charged and put before court. They have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.