A lot being done on Nigeria’s situation behind the scenes – Annor-Dompreh

The pressure being mounted on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to speak on the killings and riots ongoing in Nigeria is reasonable, Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament, has said.

He, however, said a lot is being done behind the scenes unbeknown to the public to quell the situation.

Mr Akufo-Addo who is the chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has been called upon to break his silence on the happenings in the oil-producing West African nation.

Several other Nigerians and Ghanaians including high profile musicians, broadcasters and actors have also taken to Twitter to express their misgivings over Mr Akufo-Addo’s long silence.

The Executive Director of the West African Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), Dr Chukwuemeka B. Eze, also asked Mr Akufo-Addo to speak on the issues and assure the Nigerian people of the measures ECOWAS is putting in place to deal with the upheaval.

Dr Eze told journalists on Wednesday, October 21 that “The Ghanaian president is the current Chair of ECOWAS so I’ll be shocked if he’s not engaging behind the scenes.”

He added “but a public statement that shows the people of Nigeria that they are not alone should have gone out by now while the diplomacy continues. A public statement will provide reassurance and tell the Nigerian people that they are not alone in this”.

Mr Abraham Amaliba, a private legal practitioner and Member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), said the long silence of Mr Akufo-Addo is disturbing.

Speaking on this development on TV3’s New Day programme on Wednesday, October 21 with Johnnie Hughes, Mr Amaliba noted that Mr Akufo-Addo has been too relaxed on this matter.

He said the President should have by now issued a statement on the happenings.

“This president has been sleeping a lot on national and international issues. He should have spoken by now,” Mr Amaliba said.

He stated further that “Ghana will need to take a cue from this. As politicians we need to ensure that what is happening in Nigeria does not happen.

“We need to take care of the welfare and the needs of the people. Akufo-addo is taking care of the welfare and needs of only the people of his ethnic clan. We have never seen in this country before where a president has appointed over 50 people close to him into office. That angers people. These are some of the things that we need to avoid.

“The president as ECOWAS by now should be speaking, by now should be engaging with his counterpart in Nigeria.”

But speaking in an interview with journalists on, Wednesday, October 21, Mr Annor Dompreh, also Member of Parliament for Nsawam-Adoagyiri said “The calls on President Akufo-Addo to speak is a reasonable call but however, significantly, I must admit that there are other things being done behind the scene that is not known necessarily and hence because I am privileged to know all the things that are being done, I can say that, there are a lot of consultations ongoing.

“It is about speaking which will elicit the necessary feedback and ultimately lead to the resolution of the matter. So I think that we should hasten with caution. Ghanaians shouldn’t forget the leadership President Akufo-Addo showed during the Mali crisis. But the situations are different, and so we all have to be patient until it is appropriate for him to speak. And let’s all pray for the good people of Nigeria.”

“But I agree that, in the interim, the Nigerian leadership would also have to exercise caution especially in warding off protesters and controlling them. I cannot confirm any steps in terms of the evacuation of Ghanaians in the country but what I know is that we are in touch with our mission in Abuja and discussions are ongoing, but we should all be worried about the lives being lost and as Ghanaians and sub-regional body, we pray that other leaders of the sub-region will listen to him and give logic for this matter to be resolved,” he said.