A Deputy Minister of Information, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has assured Ghanaians that president Mills is committed to a peaceful and trouble free 2012 elections and will not steal the mandate of the people to stay in office. He said the utterances of some politicians especially those of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) seem to suggest that “we are going to war in 2012. It looks like 2012 is a declaration of war where heads are going to be cut instead of us going to count heads”.

Speaking on Metro TV’s “Good Morning Ghana” programme, the Deputy Minister opined that unlike the flag-bearer of the NPP who moves about proclaiming ‘all-die-be-die’, president Mills is preaching peace and will not do anything to disturb the peace of the country.

He added “I am increasingly getting sick about the hypocrisy of the NPP. Why did Nana Akuffo Addo (flag-bearer of NPP) say he will win power at all cost in 2012? Why did Mac Manu, a former chairman of the NPP say they will import guns into the country? They must stop beating war drums”.

Readers may recall that, Mac Manu, few months ago said “we no go sit down make dem (NDC) cheat us every day” adding that the NDC has always been an aggressor in electoral violence in the country and that the NPP will use sticks, stones including license guns to defend themselves in 2012 if the ruling NDC makes any attempt to steal the votes of the people.

This threat by the former NPP chairman came days after the current chairman, Jake Obetsebi Lamptey issued a similar threat stating that “the majority of the people in Ivory Coast are Akans. The large parts of the ethnics in Ghana are Akans. The other tribes and things- you know the colonial (masters) did a line so this side of the line is Ghana; that side of the line is Cote d’Ivoire. And the line goes through a number of villages. So it means the people on this side are actually the same as the people on that side. If they can have violence in Cote d’Ivoire where does it say we can’t have violence in Ghana?” he explained, adding, “where does it say that the people of Ghana are such dummies that they are going to allow themselves to be cheated of their birthright whereas the people in Cote d’Ivoire say they won’t allow themselves to be cheated. We have to assume that the same thing, the same reaction can come from the same people’. This according to Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa must be condemned by civil society groups and all who matter in promoting Ghana’s democracy as a true democrat will not make such a statement.

He said before the NPP left power in 2008, they were 15 airlines operating in Ghana which has been doubled to 33 adding, the cocoa sector has also received a major boost hitting 1 million metric tonnes which is unprecedented in the country’s history. These and many other achievements are the reasons he said will win votes for president Mills in 2012. “Mills doesn’t need to steal an election”, he added.

Another panel member, Nana Akomea who is the Communications Director of the opposition NPP said the ruling NDC government “doesn’t put money in where their mouth is” implying the NDC is not committed to what they say but only does so to score political points.

According to him, the NDC talks about transparency in the 2012 elections but wonders why they are not in support of biometric verification which is supposed to serve as a check on a free and fair elections. This according to him is hypocrisy at the highest level.

He called on the government to arrest Mac Manu if they think his statement is a threat to national security. “Why is your government not arresting him? Let the BNI go and arrest him”, he added.

He mentioned that prior to the 2008 elections; president Mills proclaimed to the whole world that “if the elections were not free and fair, there would be Kenya and Kenya at the time were cutting heads”.

“Mahama Ayariga after winning the ticket to contest the NDC parliamentary seat in 2012 in the Bawku Constituency, which is a volatile place said he will win the seat at all cost. Is that not a threat?, he asked.