Let’s tolerate each other, stop coup mongering – Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged both the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the biggest opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to accommodate each other in continuing to consolidate Ghana’s democracy, to which he acknowledged both parties have contributed over the decades, and shy away from coup mongering.

According to the President, Ghana is in her most productive age, thanks to the contributions of both parties, and, thus, this was not the time to turn the hands of the democratic clock backward.

“Both the major political parties of the country, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), have made positive contributions to this development”, he said.

“There is work to be done on building our institutions, but our democracy is worth fighting for”, he urged the House.

The President noted: “It is up to us to find a way to accommodate each other and our differences to make things work for the benefit of the Ghanaian people”.

Mr Akufo-Addo, who is currently the Chair of ECOWAS, observed: “It might also well be that coup d’états have re-entered our discourse because of the turmoil in our neighborhood”.

“The West African Region is suddenly back in the international headline news for all the wrong reasons, we are back again as the region of political instability and the place for coups”, but indicated: “Long and bitter experience led ECOWAS to its current stance of zero tolerance for military coups”.

“We, in Ghana, know the cost of instability, it leads to the exodus of our artisans and professionals, and the emptying of teachers from our schools”, he warned.

“We do not want to be an island of peace and stability in a region of turmoil. We do not aspire to be prosperous in the midst of want and poverty. We want a stable and prosperous Ghana in a stable and prosperous region”.

“We should use our Chairmanship of ECOWAS, our membership of the AU, and as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council to work towards achieving these goals”.