The National Democratic Congress (NDC)
The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Ernest Addison, is alleged to have classed the NDC parliamentarians as a bunch of hooligans following their staged public demonstration calling for his resignation from office.
The NDC parliamentarians along with some members of the public who are principally supportive of the NDC and their shenanigans, took to the streets of Accra demanding the removal of the governor of the Bank of Ghana and his two deputies from office for causing a gargantuan financial loss to the state by their activities which are in the public domain.
They claim the outfit of the governor engaged in the printing of money for the NPP to help the party bribe the electorate to facilitate their chances of winning the election 2024, besides their other activities that have cost Ghana excessive debt and damage. Absolute trash!
Many are Ghanaians rebuking the governor for being too harsh on the NDC parliamentarians when he called them hooligans they took to the streets chanting for his resignation, instead of using other more appropriate means open to them to summon him before a parliamentary committee to explain things they don’t understand to them.
Could the governor be far from the truth treating the parliamentarians as hooligans? No, not as far as I am concerned.
The NDC parliamentarians in my candid opinion and in seconding the governor’s views, are more, or worse, than hooligans. Most of them are unfit to be in parliament since they don’t know what they are doing there or have difficulty understanding simple terms and plainly explained articles in the Constitution.
The Constitution has stated clearly who cannot stand for election to become parliamentarian. Anyone who owes allegiance to any other country apart from Ghana cannot stand for election to become a parliamentarian.
However, the current Member of Parliament for Assin North Constituency, James Gyeke Quayson, was a dual citizen of Canada and Ghana when he filed his application to contest for the seat in 2020.
Again, there is a precedent where the late MP for Bawku Central, Alhaji Adamu Dramani Sakande, was expelled from parliament and jailed when he was found guilty of owing allegiance to both Britain and Ghana when he stood and won election 2008 on the ticket of NPP.
The NDC parliamentarians have decided not to go to parliament but to troop to court in solidarity with their colleague James Gyekye Quayson, whenever he is due for court. Are they not by their irresponsible attitude trying to obstruct his trial, thus, perverting the course of justice? However, they call themselves lawmakers. Is their behaviour not that of hooligans?
Again, when they lost the presidential election 2020, former president-cum-presidential-candidate John Dramani Mahama, took to the streets of Accra in the company of trigger-happy NDC faithful, claiming he had won but the Electoral Commission had rigged it for NPP and President Nana Akufo-Addo, the NDC parliamentarians joined in, marching like headless chickens to the seat of the Electoral Commission.
They neither had justifiable collated results nor any iota of proof, indicating that John Dramani Mahama had won the election as it was being alleged by the NDC leadership, however, the NDC parliamentarians joined in as though, their candidate had won the election.
They were screaming, threatening, and demanding the Electoral Commission to rather redeclare victory for John Mahama instead of the winner, President Nana Akufo-Addo.
What a bunch of hooligans that wouldn’t follow the law and laid down procedures but would want to bulldoze their way through as and when it suits them.
Are they not damn hooligans, parliamentarians that will unite to sabotage the ruling government in whatever it does all with the motive of causing public disaffection for it to make it unpopular to pave the way for their party to come back to power. Is it not malevolent hooligans that will do that?
There are a thousand and one instances where the NDC parliamentarians have exhibited characteristics of hooliganism.
If the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Addison, had called them hooligans, they very much deserve it!
To conclude, who is a hooligan? He is “usually a young man who engages in rowdy or violent behaviour, especially as part of a group or gang”.