The leadership of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has condemned the violence and hooliganism that characterised the build up to the national congress of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Addressing a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Accra yesterday, the General Secretary of the NPP, Justin Frimpong Kodua, appealed to the NDC to appreciate that violence has no place in the country’s body politic.
While agreeing with former President John Mahama that the NDC is second to none when it comes to unleashing violence, he claimed such comments incited the party’s thugs and vigilantes to perpetrate the violence that was witnessed in Cape Coast during the party’s youth and women congress.
He stressed that if Ghana is to live up to its accolade as the bastion of democracy in Africa, “it is imperative that both political parties build a robust democracy that breaks new grounds and serves as blueprint for other countries in Africa and beyond”.
“We wish to use this occasion in the interest of the nation to admonish the Asiedu Nketiah-led National Executives to take steps to reform the NDC and get rid of the party’s addiction to violence.
“John Mahama was right then, and he is still right today: no political party can match their records when it comes to political violence. We, in the NPP, can certainly not compete with the NDC in unleashing violence, and we do not intend to give this an attempt,” he stated.
Disregard for law
The NPP General Secretary claimed that the NDC has “no regard for the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act,” saying that is why “they are still keeping their vigilante ‘thugs’, who they occasionally unleash to cause chaos in the country.”
He said it is not surprising that the Ghana Police had declared as “Most Wanted” 16 thugs of the NDC for their violent conduct at the recent youth and women congress of the party.
“The congress resulted in some of their thugs and supporters sustaining life-threatening injuries while several properties were destroyed. They virtually turned their congress into a war zone,” he added.
He encouraged members of the general public to assist the police with information that will lead to the arrest of these NDC vigilantes to make them face the full rigours of the law.
He said following the public outrage and condemnation of the violence that marred the NDC’s congress in Cape Coast, many would have thought that the party’s congress in Accra would be incident-free.
The NPP General Secretary, however, bemoaned “the physical assault” of Madam Janet Nabila, General Secretary of the Peoples National Convention (PNC), by some vigilantes of the NDC, resulting in her hospitalisation.
“Her only crime was that she honoured an invitation extended to her Party by the NDC in line with existing inter-party courtesies where opposing parties are invited to deliver solidarity messages during such events,” Mr Frimpong Kodua revealed.
Technical support
The NPP General Secretary also reaffirmed the party’s commitment to providing the NDC with the needed technical support to collate its election results.
“The NPP warmly welcomes the new leadership of the NDC to the political table. As confirmed by their National Chairman, we appreciate their difficulty in collating election results over the years, and are willing to provide them with technical support in that regard,” he indicated.
He also expressed readiness to engage them on politics of issues, devoid of propaganda and deceit, to enable the electorate make an informed decision in 2024
Patience
Mr Frimpong Kodua appealed to the populace to be patient, and have confidence in the NPP government, especially when its remedial interventions to socioeconomic conditions in the country are gradually yielding results.
“We may not be out of the woods yet, but we are definitely on track to restoring our country to the path of sustained growth and prosperity. On the anniversary of the birth of Christ, we would like to wish all Ghanaians a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year in advance,” he concluded.
