Executive Director of the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), Emmanuel Akwetey, has called on the Ghana Police Service to invite and question the Member of Parliament for Abetifi, Bryan Acheampong, over his claims that the ruling NPP will never hand over power to the opposition NDC.
According to him, inviting the minister for Food and Agriculture for questioning over his comments will assure Ghanaians that the Police Service is consistent when it comes to inviting politicians who make reckless comments.
Reacting to comments made by Mr Acheampong who addressed party supporters at Mpraeso on Saturday, revealing that the ruling New Patriotic Party will never hand over power to the opposition NDC in 2025, Dr Akwetey stated that the comments by Mr Acheampong are incendiary and reckless and must be condemned by all Ghanaians in society.
“I think that in the past when people have made statements that threaten our national unity or security, the Police deal with them. It happened to Kennedy Agyapong about the statement that Asante or Akans are being threatened, he was invited. Koku Anyidoho was also invited, we also heard of Mr [Ofosu] Ampofo, he is in court. So, can the Police show a fair hand… Could they invite him.”
Emmanuel Akwetey
The IDEG executive director emphasized that the rule of law requires that incendiary, subversive statements ought to be investigated. As such, there is the need to exhaust all legal avenues in resolving the matter.
NPP described as most violent party
Meanwhile, a Fellow at the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana, Dr Michael Kpessa-Wyhte, has revealed that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has been the most violent party in Ghana both in rhetoric and in action.
Mr Kpessa-Whyte, who is also a member of the NDC stated that the NPP has overtime displayed signs and acts of violence as evident in some incidents which occurred during the last general elections.
“If we have to speak about which political party has been most violent both in rhetoric and in action, it is the NPP. The man we call President today once upon a time incited his supporters asking them that all ‘die be die’ and that they should be willing to engage in violence of whatever form just for him to obtain political power and soon after he obtained political power, we saw the extent to which they unleashed violent vigilantes on innocent Ghanaians across the country.”
Dr Michael Kpessa-Wyhte
Following the statement made by the Abetifi MP, scores of party faithfuls from both the NDC and NPP have waded in on the conversation, with the NDC criticizing Mr Acheampong’s statement and some NPP members justifying the intent of his speech. The NPP has defended the Member of Parliament for Abetifi, Bryan Acheampong, over his comments.
According to the NPP, Mr Acheampong said nothing wrong and was only responding to previous comments made by former President John Dramani Mahama and some NDC party officials.
The NPP leadership in a statement noted that the press release issued by the NDC reacting to the comment by Bryan Acheampong was not only ill-founded, hypocritical, illogical, and baseless, but also one that lacks contextual substance for the consumption of the discerning Ghanaians.
Conversely, the NDC has taken exception to the statement, describing it as treasonable. James Agalga, ranking member on parliament’s Committee on Defense and Interior, stated that Mr Acheampong’s “ominous statement” is manifested in the overall conduct of Akufo-Addo’s government’s approach to issues bordering on the impartiality and credibility of the Electoral Commission moving in to the 2024 elections.
In light of this, he has called on the police to arrest the Abetifi MP.
READ ALSO: NDC’s Statement On Bryan Acheampong Lacks Contextual Substance- NPP
