Ade Coker blasts Freddy Blay over Nana Addo's cancer story

Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Joseph Ade Coker has said that Freddy Blay as a responsible Acting Chairman of the NPP shouldn’t have allowed his newspaper [Daily Guide] to publish a damaging story about his flagbearer’s health.

“We are not God to call for Nana Addo’s death. In fact New Patriotic Party (NPP) should give us a break and also stop putting words in our mouth. Nobody in the NDC can ever make such a comment against Nana Addo. Members of the NPP fabricated their own story, which they want to use as a yardstick of sympathy to be voted for come December 7,” he said.

Responding to issues pertaining to the ‘Montie trio’ on UTV’s ‘Adekye Nsroma’ programme, Ade Coker noted that per his understanding after vigorously reading Article 72 of the 1992 constitution on which the ‘Montie 3’ were remitted “the President of the land did no wrong by acting on that law to get the culprits out of prison”.

Remission of 'Montie 3'

However, he also reacted to the Daily Graphic’s August 30, 2016 front page publication, which reported that lawyer Alfred Tuah-Yeboah had asked the Supreme Court to reverse the remission for the ‘Montie 3’ because “The power of the President to exercise prerogative of mercy is limited to criminal convictions from contempt proceedings initiated by the Attorney-General only”.

The lawyer added that seeking a declaration from the highest court of the land that the grant of remission for the trio who were serving sentences “by the court based on its own inherent jurisdiction under article 126(2) of the constitution for contempt is contrary to articles 72 and 296(c) of the 1992 constitution and is therefore, void and of no legal effect”.

Ade Coker based on this report indicated that “The lawyer in question should look for something better to do than concentrating on issues like this, which would serve this nation no good. You see, people of this nature want to be known to get more clients, and therefore must not be listened to”.