Anti-Northern Prayer Session Delivered By Prophet Amponsah.

PRESS STATEMENT

Ladies and Gentlemen of the media, we thank you for your quick response to our call.

As you are aware, the general election is fast approaching, less than 7 days and political parties

are feverishly wrapping up their campaigns with much potency.

We, the Concern Youth for Northern Development (CYfND) called you here to express our dismay at comments made by Prophet Kofi Amponsah, who was invited by the NPP to worship with them at their Praise and Prayer Festival, dubbed “JERICHO SHALL FALL” on the 11th November, 2012 at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi.

We find the Man of God’s comments very disgusting and unpalatable on the tongue and minds of the people of the north. Pastor Amponsah unequivocally alleged that, there are blood sacrifices, burial of live cows or human-beings somewhere in the north to enable people win power. He stated that “evil forces that will specifically rise up from that part of the country against the rest of Ghana, will fail for the will of God to prevail”, adding, “this time around, God will rule…..My beloved, listen, we are pointing our hands directly to the Northern Region; we are pointing to the Northern Region; we are pointing there” said the prophet, all in prayer of curse and casting of demons to befall the north.

As if not satisfied, he was heard on tape played on numerous radio stations in Kumasi saying, “Whatever evil powers that will emanate from the Northern Region we condemn it”. We ask a simple question: Is the NPP “Anti-Northern Ghana” to let such a Pastor, who knows nothing about the north, spew such trash on their religious platform?

What exactly did Pastor Amponsah mean? We find these comments highly irresponsible, distasteful and disrespectful to the people of Northern Ghana

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is even more repulsive to hear these remarks made on a political platform of the largest opposition party NPP that is seeking for the mandate of Ghanaians without any rebuttal or attempt to stop this so called Prophet by the big wigs of the party. The people of the north are patriots and shield no evil against Ghana as avowed by the Pastor with gross impunity. We waited far too long hoping against hope that the NPP will condemn this dam man of God in vain.

Our friends of the media, what is more shocking is the fact that, the party this man of God is supposedly praying for has a Vice Presidential candidate and other big guns from the north in their midst. What remains unimaginably preposterous to us is the fact that, the NPP running mate, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia and his wife along side Abu Jinapor, aide to Nana Akufo-Addo sat in the congregation and nodded their heads as if in affirmative response to the call made by Pastor Amponsah to capsize northern Ghana with his chants. It continues to baffle our minds that such divisive, message-less and non religious sermon and preaching of sectarianism and hatred from a man of God is associated with the NPP. Such bigotry needs universal condemnation of the highest proportion. We are shocked and disappointed by the NPP for providing such a platform for people like Kofi Amponsah who guise themselves by the word of God to make such offensive pronouncements.

Needless to mention, the people of Northern Ghana, like any other people in this country, are religious and God-fearing people - Christians and Muslims alike - and do not engage in the practice of sorceries as people like Prophet Kofi Amponsah and his associates would have others to believe. The north knows no evil dwellings. We attribute everything that befalls us to the will of the Almighty Allah (God). We believe in God and His Prophets and respect all other religions and tribes in the Country.

We believe that Ghanaians are one people with a common destiny. We also believe that our common enemies are not ourselves or other people who do not share in our political and religious inclinations, but poverty, illiteracy and disease. This group was founded with the vision of fighting these common enemies, not our sister tribes all over Ghana. We welcome all governments, non-governmental organizations and other philanthropists who pledge to give us a fair share of the national cake or bring any form of development to our people.

As evident in contemporary Ghanaian politics, our people cut across the political divide and accept those who accord us the necessary recognition as Ghanaians.

Whilst we do not automatically assume that the sentiments expressed by Pastor Amponsah reflects the views and beliefs of the NPP, we hope that they (the NPP) would show the people of Northern Ghana some respect by imploring Prophet Kofi Amponsah to render an unqualified apology to the people of northern Ghana. Furthermore, we expect the NPP to make public their position on the Pastors comments. If you do not support such recklessly misguided statements, then dissociate yourselves from the remarks since they were made on your platform.

Again, we want this Pastor in the same potency and valor to pray and revoke all the evil curses and demons he and the NPP had cast at the people of the north. We do not want to ingenuously receive the repercussion of such curses in the near future. We believe in prayer, the efficacy of it and what prayers can do irrespective of who it is coming from.

Ladies and gentlemen, prayer, they say is the key. We do not question the rationale behind the organization of “JERICHO SHALL FALL” Praise and Prayer Festival. However, it is our conviction that the festival could have served a better purpose of praying for peace before, during, and after the general election, rather than a platform for hate speech that seeks to malign and denigrate any people or group of people, or to foment trouble in this country.

We wish to conclude by emphasizing that the people of Northern Ghana respect all ethnic groups in Ghana, love peace, wish the best for all Ghanaians, and most importantly pray for peaceful elections next month. Let us eschew pronouncements that seek to divide us as a country, but rather concentrate our energies on issues that bind us as a country. This way, we can move this country forward. Let’s harness our diversity for economic development and the betterment of the livelihoods of all Ghanaians.

Thank you very much for the opportunity. May God bless us all. And May God continue to bless our Homeland Ghana.

Kashaa Nuhu (President of CYfND).0232620578.

Issahaq Mumuni (Secretary) 0243510326.

Sadiq Alhassan Seidu (Member) 0272601082