NDC condemns Bryan Acheampong's comments - But NPP says NDC’s reaction lacks substance
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has condemned a statement said to have been made by the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, to the effect that the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) government will never hand over power to the NDC.
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“As the political tradition that ushered in our nation's stable constitutional order, the NDC will do whatever it takes to resist the misrule and machination of the oppressor and thus protect and preserve our democracy,” the party said in a statement signed and issued by its General Secretary, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey.
“We urge the Ghana Police Service to act with dispatch in this matter.
We recall the alacrity with which it recently apprehended and charged the Suame Constituency Youth Organiser of the NDC for expressing views that were deemed to be inciteful,” it said.
“No one is in any doubt that the statement of Bryan Acheampong is even more incendiary and subversive. We ,therefore, expect the same level of speedy action from the Ghana Police Service in arresting Acheampong and bringing him to book,” it said.
Recall
Mr Acheampong, who is also the NPP Member of Parliament (MP) for Abetifi, is reported to have said during a rally to climax a health walk organised by the NPP at Kwahu in the Eastern Region on Saturday, April 8, 2023 that it would never happen that NPP would hand over power to the NDC.
The Minister of Food and Agriculture said the NPP would do anything within its means to retain power in the 2024 general election.
He said the NPP had what it takes to quell any form of ill conduct that the NDC might be planning to use to win the 2024 elections.
NPP
However, a statement signed and issued by the General Secretary of the NPP, Justin Frimpong Kodua, described the NDC's statement as one that “lacked contextual substance for the consumption of discerning Ghanaians”.
“The NPP considers the NDC's attack on Bryan Acheampong not only unwarranted but also attention seeking with an ill attempt to emotionally blackmail Ghanaians to court their support,” it said.
It, therefore, assured Ghanaians of the party’s resolve to guarantee the peace and security of the state by ensuring free, fair, and the most transparent elections in the 2024 general election to maintain the nation's enviable position as the bastion of democracy in Africa.
Comments
Meanwhile, the statement by Mr Acheampong has since received varied interpretations.
Among them is the MP for Abuakwa South, Samuel Atta Akyea, who has said Mr Acheampong’s comment has been taken out of context and that what he meant was that the governing party was going to break the eight.
A leading member of the NPP, Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, has condemned Mr Acheampong’s comments.
In a statement issued by Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe, titled “Bryan Acheampong; the irresponsible cabinet minister” he described his comments as ‘senseless’ saying he could not sit unconcerned in the face of such a destructive political statement which could lead this nation into destruction.
He called on Mr Acheampong to render an unqualified apology to the nation.
Security Analyst
A foreign policy and security analyst, Adib Saani, described the comments by Mr Acheampong as “irresponsible” and one that had the potential to plunge the country into anarchy.
He said in an interview that the minister had undermined state institutions and also sought to galvanise the support base of the ruling party to indulge in acts of lawlessness in the event that the party lost power in 2024.
“Politicians are like rock stars.
They have hardened followers who are inspired by them. Whatever the politician say has a direct implication on the thought processes of the followers and their behaviour patterns” Mr Saani advised.
“Now that he has said this, if tomorrow the followers are fighting over power, then obviously he influenced them,” he said.
Mr Saani, who is also the Executive Director of Jatikay Centre for Human Security and Peace Building, said Mr Acheampong’s comments were not different from other incendiary comments that once plunged countries such as Kenya and Côte d'Ivoire into electoral violence.