Akufo-Addo can’t intimidate us —Apaak

National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Builsa South, Dr Clement Apaak, has said the Minority will not retreat nor surrender in their quest to impress upon the government on why they believe the military pact agreement is bad for Ghana.

Speaking to Today at the weekend, he said the Minority will not be intimidated by the insults from the president and will meet him ”boot for boot’.’

“The president whether he likes it or not will have to listen to the hard truth,” the Builsa South legislature said.

“We will not be intimidated, we will not be cowed, we will not surrender… we will speak the truth and if he decides to abuse, insult and demean us because we are exercising our constitutional right, we will meet him boot for boot because Ghana is not President Akufo-Addo’s personal property and we will stand up and speak the truth whether he likes it or not,” he noted.

Dr Apaak expressed his disappointment in government for the immunities granted the military troops from the US and the ousting of ‘our judicial system’ should these troops engage in lawless activities.

According to him, giving US military unfettered access and spectrum makes the situation even murkier.

According to the agreement, Ghana will provide unimpeded access to and use of agreed facilities and areas to the U.S. forces and contractors, including non-liability clauses that make Ghana’s laws inapplicable to offending US troops. Ghana is also granting free use of our radio spectrum for the United States, something many have criticised.

Ghana is entitled to $20 million dollars in aid over a period for the deal, an amount Hassan Ayariga has said he was ready to pay to government for the deal to be jilted.

But the MP said Ghanaians “should be worried because what is going on simply is an attempt by the president, to justify an agreement that is castrating.

That is mortgaging our sovereignty and we [Minority] are prepared to resist. It is clear; you don’t have to call it a base if you don’t want to but the agreement, the content of what the Americans can do and cannot do and what that agreement seeks to offer the Americans as described certainly is a base.”

He added: “You can choose to call it a base, but as I have indicated, let us bring it down to the level that all of us can understand. You have a space, you can deploy military hardware, you can deploy troops, you can launch attacks from there and the sovereign nation where this is going to take place doesn’t even have the right to know what is going on; which means that Americans can even go around and kidnap citizens of other nations and come and hide them on our soil without us knowing, clearly all of these are indications of a base and I think Ghanaians are discerning enough to know that, the president has not been truthful and just seeking to divert attention,” he averred.