NPP’s “No Supreme Court in 2016” threat

…“it must not be taken lightly”

Following The Al-Hajj’s publication of last Tuesday, March 11, 2014, which among other things revealed how some Ghanaians opposed to President John Mahama and his National Democratic Congress government, are dangerously working toward a Ukraine-like regime change, a security expert has admonished government and the security agencies not to “take it lightly”.

Whiles fully commending the paper for undertaking such an in-depth investigation and analysis, drawing public attention to the dangers inherent in some pronouncements by a section of the Ghanaian public, the security capo, asked government and security apparatus to take serious, declarations by some leading members of the opposition New Patriotic Party that the party will not “go to the Supreme Court” again after the 2016 election.

The statement declared by kingpins of the NPP which has become the “anthem” of the party’s hardline supporters, the security expert said is very dangerous and must not be treated lightly.

Overly impressed with the publication and itching to draw the attention of the security apparatus to certain happenings likely to plunge the country into violence, the expert, who called into the office of The Al-Hajj but pleaded on strict anonymity, said the “No court in 2016” pronouncement by NPP leaders is shrouded in ambiguity and can put the next parliamentary and presidential elections in jeopardy.

“No one knows the exact thing these NPP big guys are communicating. Maybe they know something you and I don’t know. Maybe they know for a fact that they will win the 2016 elections or they will not accept the will of the people in the event they lose the election. Aside the makers of the statement, none of us understand it, so I think the security agencies must take it serious and put up response measures to arrest any unrest ahead of 2016,” the source stated.

Key leading members of the New Patriotic Party among them, aspiring National Youth Organizer, Sammy Awuku; aspiring Chief Scribe, Yaw Buabeng Asamoah and Paul Afoko, aspiring National Chairman, have all variously declared the party will not waste it’s time to challenge results of the 2016 elections as they did in the last election in 2012.

Another concern raised by the security expert has to do with the ‘quality’ of government communication and how it is channeled to people, adding that the poor manner information flow from the presidency to the public has created a situation where people are gradually losing confidence in whatever comes from government.

“For me, apart from what the opposition members have said about 2016, what I see as a danger to the Mahama government, and indeed, to the country’s fledgling democratic governance is the quality of information from the Flagstaff House and the rest of us (Ghanaians),” the expert disclosed.

Adding that when the people begin to lose confidence and trust of their governments, hardly would they believe in whatever information that comes out from such regime suggesting “that is very dangerous because you can never predict what they will do next”.

Adding to this concern was the instances where the President says something and his ministers or government communicators also come out to express a contrary view to what the President or an official had earlier said.

The Mahama administration few days ago was censored for lack of clarity and contradictory accounts on a proposed implementation of governments “progressive free SHS” in the 2015/2016 academic year.

Whiles the deputy Minister of Education, Mr Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa and other NDC communicators said the policy will be funded from GETFund, Prof Jane Nana Opoku Agyemang, who is the Minister of Education, was quoted in the media to have said, she does not know how the policy will be funded.

Again, whereas President Mahama announced in the state of the Nation address that work was progressing on the 12 district hospital, the Minister of Health, Madam Hanny Sherry Ayitey two days after the President’s statement told parliament, government had suspended plans to construct the district hospitals.

These contradictory accounts on government policies, the security expert noted erode public confidence in government, admonishing that it could spark controversy that would emboldened some unscrupulous persons to take advantage of it to misbehave.