Koku fights Nketiah over ‘illegal’ expulsion from NDC

A 72-hour ultimatum given to the opposition National Democratic Congress by its former Deputy General Secretary, Samuel Koku Anyidoho, to revoke his expulsion from the party expires today. Mr Anyidoho will therefore decide to sue the party or otherwise after today.

The former NDC Deputy General Secretary is challenging his expulsion from the party. The opposition party in July this year expelled Mr Anyidoho, citing “anti-party conduct and indiscipline” as the grounds for the action.

But, according to Mr Anyidoho, the party breached his fundamental human right by not giving him the opportunity to state his side of the issue.

Ultimatum

In a letter addressed to the party’s General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, on August 18, Mr Anyidoho gave the party a 72-hour ultimatum to revoke the expulsion or face him in court.

“As a conscientious individual whose sentiments are rooted in equity and fairness, I demand, as a matter of urgency that you within 72hours of receipt of this response, unequivocally retract the purported notice of my expulsion given to the media and circulated to unsuspecting Ghanaians and similarly set aside the recommendations of the National Disciplinary Committee as same is founded on an illegality and is void ab initio.

“I hope that you shall accede to my demand such that in line with the spirit of the Constitution of the NDC, we are able to bring finality to this matter internally. Else, I shall be forced to seek redress in the courts of law that are characteristically, not partial to exercising equity and fairness in all matters,” he stated.

The decision to seek redress in court, according to Mr Anyidoho, is grounded in Article 47(g) of the NDC Constitution. The said provision enjoins all party members to uphold the fundamental human rights and freedoms, as enshrined in Chapter 5 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.

“Having thoroughly assessed the laws of the 1992 Republican Constitution of Ghana, as well as the legal principles embodying equity, justice and fairness the said Republican constitution and the NDC constitution alike are founded on, it comes as no surprise that there are no delineated laws that allow the ‘prosecution’ of an individual without his attendance particularly when it is without his knowledge,” he added.

The geese and the gander

Mr Anyidoho added that if there is any person who has exhibited ‘anti-party conduct’, it is the party’s General Secretary. He believes the party should also expel Mr Asiedu Nketiah.

“Does your arbitrariness also not breach the Constitution of the NDC and amount to anti – party conduct? Must you also not be ‘expelled’ for blatantly breaching the Constitution of our great party? Or do you only reserve this ‘honour’ for people you hold personal vendettas against?” he asked.

Meanwhile, the former Director of Communications at the Presidency during the Atta-Mills administration has challenged Mr Asiedu Nketia to substantiate claims that he created troubles at the presidency.

“You, Sir, never worked at the Presidency yet you choose to rant about my working relationship with President Atta – Mills, hitting at my integrity and claiming, ‘I created problems for President Atta – Mills’. Do you have any concrete evidence to back such loose vicious talk? Or is your vile vendetta against me so strong that it is causing you to conjure imaginative untruths?” he said.

“Perhaps, you need reminding that I worked as your Deputy for 4 years (Acting in your stead countless times when you were either on leave or on official assignments), with an unblemished record thus it comes as no surprise, your inability to question my sincerity, loyalty and work ethics and makes it sufficiently clear that you deliberately made ill – intentioned remarks about my working relationship with President Atta – Mills just to score some cheap points. I implore you to provide even a shred of true evidence that I ever created any problems for you,” he challenged the party’s general secretary.