Akufo-Addo governing through violence, intolerance - NDC Recounts ‘Violent 2020’ Polls

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has noted that the December 7, 2020, polls was a terrible blot on Ghana’s democracy.

General Secretary of the party, Johnson Asiedu-Nketiah said the government unleashed its goons on Ghanaians during the elections, a situation which led to the death of some 8 persons.

The chief scribe said although the current president was touted as a man who respects the rule of law, his governance had been characterized by violence, intolerance and machoism.

The party also recounted the death of journalist Ahmed Hussein Suale without concrete outcome.

Read the full statement below:

A statement issued and signed by the party’s General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketia on Monday December 6 said, “For us in the National Democratic Congress, who were the victims at the hands of the NPP goons who have been unlawfully integrated into the security services, that day will always remain a terrible blot on the much-acclaimed democratic credentials of Ghana whose genesis we in the NDC are proud to be associated with.

“It is a matter of grave irony that the one person who, before the elections of 2016, was touted as the best thing that could happen to Ghana’s leadership, turned out to be a politician whose style of governance is dominated by intolerance, violence and machoism.

It was during the first term of President Akufo-Addo that the politically-motivated murder of Ahmed Suale took place. Ahmed Suale was murdered almost 3 years ago, and yet nobody knows when his murderers would be apprehended and brought to trial. But that is not all.”

It added that “In the first year of the 2nd term of President Akufo-Addo, another obviously politically-motivated murder has been committed, this time in Ejura in the Ashanti Region. The callous murder of Ibrahim Mohammed, alias Kaaka and the apparent silence and inaction of the security agencies to find his killers, has fortified us in our belief that President Akufo-Addo is not fully committed to his oath to preserve the lives of Ghanaians, and that anyone who dissents cannot count on his protection.

“It is a matter of great regret that a President who in his professional career, spent several years defending human rights issues would, upon the assumption of the highest office in the land, preside over such egregious violations of the rights of citizens.”

“Today, we recall, with grave sadness and sorrow that eight (8) Ghanaians were needlessly murdered by agents of the state under the ultimate control of the Presidency during the 2020 general elections. What is even more baffling over and beyond the tardiness of the Akufo-Addo government in bringing to book the perpetrators of these heinous crimes, is the fact that the President has never for once acknowledged that his victory was secured over the lifeless bodies of his fellow citizens.

“The National Democratic Congress wishes to place on record its promise to the families of the deceased and the injured that, at the earliest possible opportunity, we shall seek justice for the bereaved and the injured, and take all appropriate steps to ensure that compensation is paid to the families of those who were murdered or needlessly assaulted by NPP hoodlums. These dead persons, in our humble opinion, are the martyrs of the 4th Republic. And we will never forget them.

“Let it also never be forgotten that this ready resort to violence on the part of President Akufo-Addo and his NPP predates his accession to the Presidency. For even in opposition, violence was freely employed by he and his supporters to cow his adversaries in his own party into submission. And it is this clearly visible trait that has plunged the country into the confusion surrounding the approval of the 2022 Budget.

“We now have a President who obviously does not believe in dialogue nor negotiations and would, at any stage of engagement, seek to employ the tactics of a wannabe dictator to bully his way through. Unfortunately, in a real democracy, such methods do not yield peace or stability. And fortunately, the people of Ghana awarded the NDC with enough seats in Parliament to ward off the President’s intolerant approach to governance.

“We in the National Democratic Congress wish to place on record our unblemished admiration for our 137 MPs who, in the face of naked power play and threats, have stood up to be counted. We honour them most especially for their forthright rejection of the E-levy. By ensuring the successful election of the vintage Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Bagbin as the Speaker of the 8th Parliament, the gallant NDC MPs have carved out a name for themselves and posterity.

“The people of Ghana are now assured that Parliament has assumed its proper role as an oversight institution that checks the excesses of the government of President Akufo-Addo. The National Democratic Congress salutes all Ghanaians who, despite the threats to their much cherished rights, despite the unjustified killing of as many as eight citizens, despite the intolerance of the Akufo-Addo government, went to the polls and cast their votes a year ago.

“We pledge to fight as hard as possible within the law, to prevent the current government from bastardising our democracy; and we promise that no sacrifice on our part would be too much for us to bear in order to secure for ourselves and our posterity, the benefits of the democracy that we toiled so hard to establish.”