NPP, NDC clash over Invisible Forces
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have taken diametrical opposing positions on whether or not the Invisible Forces, a vigilante group associated with the ruling party, should be dissolved.
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While the NDC appealed to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to disband and demobilise the Invisible Forces, with immediate effect, the NPP’s Deputy General Secretary, Nana Obiri Boahen, said the party would not disband its security apparatus.
A statement signed by the General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, and issued in Accra yesterday said the party viewed the belated call by the President in his maiden State of the Nation Address last Tuesday as a genuine effort on his part to “rein in the rampaging and marauding members of his party, with the expectation that the gesture would restore the peace Ghanaians enjoyed under the NDC”.
“The NDC notes with a lot of hesitant interest that President Nana Akufo-Addo, in his maiden State of the Nation Address, eventually called on the lawless rampaging members of his party to stop all acts of violence and brigandage that they have been consciously unleashing on innocent citizens, especially members or perceived supporters of the NDC, with the tacit support and goading-on of the acting National Chairman of the NPP, Mr Freddie Blay, as well as other leading members of the party,” it said.
Welcoming the call, though it was belated news for the NDC and all peace-loving Ghanaians, the statement said the NDC, in its last two press conferences, had cause to demand from the President a swift call to stop “his lawless Invisible Forces from engaging in their beastly and barbaric acts”.
Unheeded calls
It indicated that the calls went unheeded in what it described as “the brigandage of the Invisible Forces, resulting in injuries, destruction of property and the loss of precious lives”.
It said the inability of the security forces to protect lives and property compelled the NDC to ask its members to employ the first law of nature — self-defence — as the only way of fending off the attacks.
“In as much as our call to our supporters could have escalated the violence, that was the only option available to us,” it added.
The statement expressed the hope that the President was not paying lip service in his call on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr David Asante-Apeatu, and his men to crack the whip and deal mercilessly with all forms of lawlessness.
“For our part, we are calling off the planned demonstration of our youth wing against NPP violence scheduled for February 24 as a sign of good faith.
“We believe in peaceful co-existence and we see the President’s call as an important precondition for peace in Ghana. We, therefore, urge him to walk the talk,” it added.
Reaction
Reacting to the NDC call, the Deputy General Secretary of the NPP, Nana Obiri Boahen, said the NDC had no right to put in that request since the leadership of the party did not consult the NDC before establishing the security team.
In an interview on radio, he said the NPP had every right to take any decision concerning its operations and that it would not take any directives from the NDC, especially on the party’s internal matters.
Explaining why the NPP would not dissolve the Invisible Forces, Nana Boahen said the group was formed during the NDC regime when the police could not provide any solid protection for the NPP’s executive and members.
Meanwhile, Samuel Duodu reports from Tamale that activities at the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) came to a halt last Tuesday evening when a Tamale-based vigilante group, the Kandahar Boys linked to the NPP, locked out Dr Prosper Akambong, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the hospital.
The about 40 irate youth, who arrived at the hospital on motorbikes, stormed the CEO’s office full of rage and anger, demanded for the keys to the office and locked him out.
Eyewitness accounts
One account at the hospital had it that the CEO was in his office at the time of the incident and was asked by the youth to vacate his office and not to return again, as they had taken over the office.
Another account had it that the boys went to the office but did not meet the CEO. Rather, they met his secretary, who called in the officer handling the keys to the office for the irate youth to lock it up and take the keys away.
When the Daily Graphic visited the facility at 9.30 a.m. yesterday, the CEO’s office was still locked, with a red inscription on the main door to the office reading: “Don’t open until further notice”.
Meanwhile, other health personnel were seen attending to patients, while some administrative staff who witnessed the incident said they were afraid and did not know what could happen to them, as the irate youth had threatened to come back yesterday.
Security
As of the time of the visit, there was no policeman at the Administration Block, apart from the hospital’s internal security men.
Some staff at the Administration Block where the CEO’s office is located told the Daily Graphic that the police came in after the irate youth had locked the CEO’s office and left.
According to them, the police gave out their contacts to the staff to call if the irate youth returned to the hospital.
When contacted, the Northern Regional Police Command confirmed the story and said the police were on the ground and that there was no cause for alarm.