NDC SPEAKS SENSE

….Withdraw statement and apologize to Ghanaians

Source :Democrat reporter

The leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has expressed dismay at the New Patriotic Party (NPP) 2012 flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo’s unfortunate statement at Koforidua when he met party supporters and declared among other things: ‘We AKANS are not the cowards we are perceived to be by the other TRIBES. The little violence that we displayed in Atiwa is just a tip of the iceberg of what the NPP would do in 2012. And 2012 is going to be a do-and-die affair, after all, all die be die’.

The party expressed shock at how these words could come from Nana Akufo-Addo, a man who aspires to become President of Ghana, a nation united with a common destiny in which until the advent of NPP, people of varied ethnic groups saw themselves first as Ghanaians and had been co-existing in peace to the envy of neighbouring countries.

This was disclosed by the General Secretary of the NDC, Mr. Asiedu Nketiah when he addressed a conference in Accra yesterday to register the party’s displeasure on Nana’s War Mongering attitude, reminding him that Ghanaians are peace loving people.

He assured Ghanaians that the 2012 elections, in spite of whatever ill motives Akufo-Addo will be habouring and planning for, will be peaceful, free and fair. Ghanaians, he said should rest assured that the leadership of the party will not buy into the war mongering agenda of the NPP to disintegrate the nation along ethnic, political or religious lines.

“Unfortunately, the NPP has succeeded in polarizing this country badly enough during the eight years of their misrule, and the time to stop this tribal agenda is now.”

He called on Akufo-Addo to withdraw his scandalous statements and apologize unconditionally to all Ghanaians, particularly his own party for putting them into such an awkward and embarrassing situation.

The NDC leadership also urged the National Peace Council, National House of Chiefs, Religious Bodies as well as Civil Society groups in general and country’s Development Partners to take note of the bellicose and belligerent statement of the NPP Presidential candidate .

We publish below the full text

Ladies and gentlemen of the ink fraternity, we welcome and thank you for honoring our invitation in spite of the rather short notice.

We wish to use this opportunity to also appreciate your dedication to your duties as the fourth estate of the realm and also to take the opportunity to wish you a belated happy new year.

The NDC has noted with grave dismay the unfortunate statements made by the flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akuffo Addo whiles addressing NPP faithfuls at a function in Koforidua. Nana Akuffo Addo was captured on tape declaring among other things, the following;

1. ‘We Akans are not the cowards we are perceived to be by the other tribes’. 2. ‘The little violence that we displayed in Atiwa is just a tip of the iceberg of what the NPP would do in 2012’.

3. ‘2012 is going to be a do-and-die affair, after all, all die be die’. Ladies and gentlemen, these are not my words; they are the words of Nana Akuffo Addo, flagbearer of the NPP, a man who aspires to become President of Ghana, a nation united with a common destiny in which until the advent of NPP people of varied ethnic groups saw themselves first as Ghanaians and had been co-existing in peace to the envy of neighbouring countries.

After a cursory analysis of Akuffo Addo’s statement, any discerning mind will come to the following inescapable conclusions

i. That the NPP flag bearer, Akuffo Addo sees the NPP as identical to the Akan ethnic group and even in opposition, he sees himself as the leader of this Akan group which he must galvanise into war against all other ethnic groups in Ghana with the sole objective of capturing political power come 2012.

ii. That the violence that characterized the Atiwa by-election was part of an orchestrated and a well rehearsed grand design to plunge this nation into chaos during the 2012 elections.

iii. That Nana Akuffo Addo has reconfirmed his credentials as a war monger who will stop at nothing in his bid to pursue his selfish political ambition of becoming President at all cost even if it means plunging this nation into civil and tribal war.

These pronouncements are typical of Nana Akuffo Addo whose political life has been characterized by violence all along.

A few examples here may be appropriate to re-emphasis the point being made: a. After the 2004 elections when he even emerged as a Member of Parliament elect for the Abuakwa South Constituency, he led his NPP thugs in Abuakwa to set ablaze the NDC Constituency office in Kyebi, his hometown. b. During the last NPP flagbearership race, Akuffo Addo ordered his bodyguards to beat to pulp supporters of Mr. Allan Kyeremanteng wherever they met them. c. Nana Akuffo Addo’s lust for violence beclouded his judgment in the discussion of the Ivorian crisis. This led to his party’s strong advocacy for the use of military intervention involving Ghanaian soldiers instead of dialogue in resolving the crisis.

What is surprising to us is that the leader of the NPP who claims to believe in the rule of law and the need to strengthen state institutions to discharge their duties within the context of the law is now calling on his party supporters to take the law into their own hands to cause mayhem by confronting security agencies in the performance of their duties. If Nana thinks suicide bombing is the best way to achieve his political ambition then we suggest he considers relocating to countries like Afghanistan, Somalia and Iraq to pursue that ambition.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me pause here and remind you about the comments I made after the NPP’s congress that elected Moctar Bamba as National Organiser, Jake Obetsebi Lamptey as National Chairman and Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, a.k.a., Sir John, as General Secretary of the NPP to join Nana Akuffo Addo to lead that Party into the 2012 elections.

I did say on that occasion that the NPP election results clearly demonstrated that the NPP has chosen violence as a means of achieving political power, having failed to achieve same through peaceful means under the leadership of Nana Akuffo Addo.

It will be recalled that not long after that elections, Moctar Bamba, the National Organizer announced the formation of a group christened the ‘Bamba Boys’ to confront the NDC in all future elections of which the Atiwa by-election became their first test case. Indeed by Akuffo Addo’s own revelation per this statement Atiwa was a success story that ought to be replicated and intensified in 2012.

At this juncture, ladies and gentlemen, the NDC has no option but to call on Akuffo Addo to withdraw these unfortunate statements and apologise unconditionally to all Ghanaians, particularly his own party for putting them into such an awkward and embarrassing situation by these utterances.

The NDC wants to assure Ghanaians that the 2012 elections, in spite of whatever ill motives Nana Akuffo Addo will be habouring and planning for, will be peaceful, free and fair. Furthermore, Ghanaians should rest assured that the leadership of our party will not buy into the war mongering agenda of the NPP to disintegrate this nation along ethnic, political or religious lines. Unfortunately, the NPP has succeeded in polarizing this country badly enough during the eight years of their misrule, and the time to stop this tribal agenda is now.

We wish to urge the National Peace Council, National House of Chiefs, Religious Bodies as well as Civil Society groups in general and our Development Partners to take note of this bellicose and belligerent statements of the NPP Presidential candidate.

In conclusion, permit me to re-emphasis that as a party in government, the NDC will not renege on our responsibility to ensure that law and order continues to prevail in this country up to 2012 and beyond to ensure the achievement of the Better Ghana Agenda.

Thank you all and God bless our homeland Ghana.