Atta Akyea's 'drunkard' comments reckless, childish and regrettable for a politician of his calibre – Analyst

Political analyst Alex Emmanuel Nti has condemned Abuakwa South Member of Parliament Atta Akyea for his comments that "we don’t need a drunkard or an alcoholic to be elected as the next president."

He said the MP and private legal practitioner had distinguished himself as one of Ghana’s most renowned politicians, and it was regrettable that he had stooped so low in making such remarks.

Speaking on Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, Alex Nti said Atta Akyea’s actions were incredibly childish, adding that even students running for Student Representative Council elections would not indulge in such reckless politics.

The analyst opined, “The first point is, is the consumption of alcohol illegal in Ghana? It is not illegal to consume alcohol, so it was very unfortunate for him to have made such claims because he may have his dirty secrets. It would surprise you to note that there may be some dirty secrets about him that are worse than alcohol consumption.

"So, if someone consumes alcohol and it is not illegal, and you use that as a campaign message, it is rather unfortunate. We are looking for competence, not this level of reckless political campaigning.

"I believe Atta Akyea should have known better. They have reduced our politics to insults. Students contesting SRC elections would not engage in such childish behaviour. Anything that is not illegal, I don’t see why people would use that as a negation against others.

"The comments were unfortunate, and I encourage him to desist from such things. He and other politicians are role models and should refrain from making such political comments.”

Alex Nti, responding to the demand for an apology from the MP to former President John Mahama, said it was unnecessary for the NDC to have issued a statement demanding an apology since the party assumed he (Akyea) was referring to Mahama.

“The two greatest political parties are the NDC and NPP, so if Atta Akyea has made these comments, most often—yes, there are many possible scenarios—but what most of us will assume is that he may be referring to the largest opposition party. In a way, it is likely that he was referring to Mahama.

"However, because he did not mention anybody’s name, and we have different candidates contesting the election, there is also a possibility that he was not referring to Mahama but to another candidate.

"In that case, I don’t think one side should assume he was referring to them. But to stress my point, after examining what Atta Akyea said, I hypothetically conclude that he was referring to the former President.”

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