On March 10, 2021, Natural Resource and Governance expert Richard Kojo Ellimah, chided President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for mocking the opposition NDC at the State of the Nation’s Address (SoNA).
Akufo-Addo, during the SoNA after the 2021 Election petition, poked the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) for losing the election petition by “7-0”.
Kojo Ellimah said that the President’s comments opened ‘dead wounds’ and will go against the government's aim of uniting Ghanaians for national cohesion and development.
“Before the verdict, there was a clarion call from stakeholders on the need for calm from all parties to the case. The aftermath of the verdict has been commendable as the issue appears to be dying. Of course, some people are still not happy but are respecting the Supreme Court’s decision anyway. I think we should leave it at that. But for the President to be seen to be mocking the opposition party is not the best,” he said.
Read the full story originally published on March 10, 2021 by 3news.com
For a government seeking to unite all fronts for national cohesion and development, comments like ‘7-0’ which rather open otherwise ‘dead wounds’ are unnecessary, a Natural Resource and Governance expert Richard Kojo Ellimah has opined.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in his first State of the Nation address in his second term, jabbed the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) for losing an election petition in a unanimous court decision.
But assessing the President’s address on Connect FM’s midday news Orekoko, Mr. Elimah observed that such “jeers may prove costly to his government, considering Parliament’s current composition”.
“Before the verdict, there was a clarion call from stakeholders on the need for calm from all parties to the case. The aftermath of the verdict has been commendable as the issue appears to be dying. Of course, some people are still not happy but are respecting the Supreme Court’s decision anyway. I think we should leave it at that. But for the President to be seen to be mocking the opposition party is not the best.”
He added: “The current composition of our Parliament presents a situation that perhaps was never anticipated. So, it will be very strategic for any government to be seen as working to unite instead of to divide. What the President did may affect his government.”
He, however, prayed that the opposition party will treat it as “a passing joke and work together for the good of the country”.
Mr. Ellimah is also worried that successive presidents tend to adopt a posture where the impression is created that they are there to serve the interest of the party and not the country.
“A president should, at all material time, be seen as acting more as Head of State, which makes him a father of the nation than Head of Government which makes him want to please his political base all the time. When that happens, you realize that the citizenry also become entrenched in whatever they do. That is where we get into the situation where the opposition is always wrong and the party in power is always right.”
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo