Member of parliament for Ningo-Prampram, Sam Nartey George, has lashed out the Governor for the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Ernest Addison, over his comment regarding the recently held OccupyBoG protest.
According to him, the remarks made by the BoG governor shouldn’t have been uttered in the first place considering the crisis he has plunged the country into.
“I’d rather be a hooligan fighting for the right things to be done in his country and being a voice for the youth and voiceless than to be a coward, thief and murderer! Yes! I am a hooligan!”
Sam Nartey George
Sam George insisted that the actions of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana have caused people their lives and livelihoods. He noted that in a functional country, Dr Addison should be in jail by now.
“Such an arrogant and incompetent coward who lacks emotional intelligence has no business running our central bank.”
Sam Nartey George
Minority vents over BoG Governor’s statement
Wading in on the issue, member of parliament for Builsa South, Dr Clement Apaak, expressed his reservations about the BoG Governor’s comment. He questioned why the “useless and lawless MisGovernor” has the impudence to call protestors hooligans.
“If demanding his resignation for conniving with the corrupt Akufo-Addo/Bawumia gov’t to bankrupt our national bank via a lawful protest, makes us hooligans, then he should prepare to taste real hooliganism.”
Dr Clement Apaak
On the other hand, member of parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, criticized the statements by the BoG Governor. He explained that “logically, the arrogant, lawless, plunderer, MisGovernor” Addison is telling Ghanaians he was appointed by a hooligan, considering the fact that President Akufo-Addo as opposition MP during the President Rawlings era embarked on and led many street demonstrations.
Moreover, Mr. Ablakwa demanded that Dr Addison must retract and apologize for his statements. With this, he emphasized that the minority takes a very serious view of the matter and condemns the statement he has made.
“We are not going to take it lightly and on behalf of all the people we represent who are already outraged by those comments, we are going to make sure that this governor is removed from that position.”
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
Meanwhile, Vice President of policy think tank, IMANI Africa, Bright Simmons, has expressed disappointment in the ongoing altercation between the minority members of parliament and the BoG Governor.
He revealed that the “spat of words” between Ghana’s Central Bank governor and opposition MPs, whom he calls hooligans couldn’t have come at a worse time.
“With government struggling to convince IMF to sign off on the $600 million tranche before they leave town rather than later in DC, such scenes don’t help.”
Bright Simmons
There have been calls for the resignation of the BoG Governor, particularly by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Minority caucus in Parliament.
However, it will be recalled that Dr. Addison in an interview with an international business website, Central Banking, stated that he was not stepping down and described the protest by the NDC as “completely unnecessary”.
He further stated that the Minority in parliament have many avenues to channel their grievances in civilized societies, not through “demonstrations in the streets as hooligans”.
