PRESS RELEASE

NPP’S Ploy To Play Politics With Mills’ Death Is Shameful And Condemnable

Fear and disquiet have gripped the Team of Popular Youth (TOPY) over intelligence being gathered by its scouts on the ground to the effect that diabolic plans have been hatched by elements of the New Patriotic Party’s communication team in collaboration with some media outlets to quickly descend on the new president, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, with wicked rumours that would arouse the wrath of Ghanaians against him and the NDC in general, instead of the enormous sympathy the publicity of the achievements of the Prof. Mills government over the last one week have generated amongst the voting population.

According to our sources, the team saw the sudden demise of the ex-president as a bad omen for the campaign strategies of the NPP, and the earlier something was done to take away the sympathies of Ghanaians from the NDC, the better. The planners lamented that in an attempt to eulogise the ex-president, the media has rather ended up in endorsing the Green Books of the NDC and the Unprecedented Achievement catch-phrase that projected the Mills-Mahama government to the high heavens. The information further revealed that one of the architects bemoaned the fact that everything seemed to have been working well for the NPP campaign especially when the former president and founder of the NDC, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings together with the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Mr. Martin Amidu, also came on board to turn the heat on their own party and government. But as if fate was a saviour, the subject of attack has been taken away, diverting attention to the good things the ex-president has done, and the NPP is left with no option than to find a clever way of substituting him with his successor.

Whilst the entire nation thought the death of this humble God-fearing president is the highest price a leader could pay to secure the peace and harmony of his nation, TOPY is extremely traumatised by the extent to which the conscience of some people have become so seared that even the respect for the dead, which is one of our avowed customs and traditions as Ghanaian, has been thrown to the dogs for political expediency.

In one of their ploys, a website called focusGhana.com published a story with a caption:

‘‘Atta Mills Was Allegedly Poisoned-Castle Sources’’. The opening sentence of the story reads “FocusGhana.com sources at the castle tell us that the late President J.E.A. Mills died in the castle before he was transported to the 37 military hospital”. Many of such stories are making the rounds and if one is not convincing enough, new twists are given to it and fresh ones are manufactured. It is also being propagated that the ex-president was killed because he refused to sign a dubious contract. And to make everybody around the ex-president a culprit, the recent revelations by his close friend and his National Security Advisor,Brigadier Geneneral Nunoo Mensah that Prof. Mills was so worried about the vilifications against him and wanted to resign as a result, but he kept assuring him to stay on to finish the good work he started was twisted to mean he prevented the president from receiving medical care. TOPY is therefore, wondering why all of a sudden, those who proclaimed the death of the late President since 2008,made insinuating remarks about his health have found other reasons why he has finally died. We thought people would recognise that God decided to take his servant away, so as to give him rest and bring peace to the motherland as being manifested in the various tributes and testimonies pouring in from individuals and pastors who were always close to the president in prayer.

According to one of these pastors, few days before the sudden incidence, the late president declared to them that “my miracle has come, and soon I will give a testimony that everybody will hear”. We believe that this last statement coupled with the fact that he handed over to his vice president and announced that he was going to Nigeria that day were all symbolisms. For us, the time has come for Ghanaians to reflect on whether we did what we could to honour this good man of God when he was alive. We must not hesitate to also beg God for forgiveness if our actions or inactions also took him through overbearing pain and trauma. In the absence of this, the blood of the innocent shall rest upon our heads forever and ever just like that of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, our first president. This time again, the Team Of Popular Youth (TOPY) is calling on all peace loving Ghanaians to be bold and courageous to name and shame those whose intentions it is never to make politics a decent enterprise to enable Ghana enjoy the full benefit of her human capital. We shall always have cause to complain as long as the Ghana Bar Association, the clergy, the Christian Council, the Moslem Leaders, the Chiefs, Civil Society Organisations and indeed all peace loving Ghanaians keep quiet while the tendency to tear this country apart still persists.

We are sensing danger again just as we forewarned without appropriate response until the Honourable Member of Parliament for Assin-North Kennedy Agyapong strayed into the turbulent waters by declaring war and asking the Ashantis to kill Ewes and Gas in the Ashanti Region. At this moment of national mourning, TOPY admonishes its members all over the country and indeed all Ghanaian youths to endeavour to epitomise the virtuous attributes of Prof Mills as our tribute to his memory. We must restrain ourselves and stay calm even in the face of all deliberate provocations from any political party seeking to treat the lifeless body of our president with gross insubordination contrary to our culture. We should continue to live decent life and the soul of our departed father and leader would be rest in peace having put his trust in the Ghanaian youth.

We seize this opportunity to send our condolence to all, and pray that God almighty would preside over the funeral and give us peace before, during and after the burial.

Marcus Garvin Adampah (0243564536/0203838464)

National Leader, Team Of Popular Youth (TOPY)