It's hypocritical to ask NDC to disclose manifesto now - George Opare tells NPP

National Youth Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), George Opare Addo has described the incessant demands by NPP for the release of his party's 2020 elections manifesto as hypocritical.

"It has never happened before, and so, it is disingenuous on the part of the NPP and some so-called neutrals which we don’t know where they belong to be calling on the NDC to put out our campaign message within a year 2 months to the elections,” he is quoted to have said.

According to him, it has never been the norm for political parties to put out their campaign message more than a year to elections when notably the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 2016 disclosed its two major policies three weeks to the elections.

Speaking on Okay FM’s 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show, Pablo, as he is politically known, insisted that the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) three weeks to the 2016 main elections rolled out its 'one-district-one-factory' and 'one-village-one-dam' policies.

"All that the NPP is saying is that the NDC doesn’t have a message for the 2020 elections. In 2016, it was three weeks to the elections before their manifesto came out. Two months to the elections before we heard their two major policy statements, that is, 1D1F, 1V1D, and these policies came out 2 to 3 months to the 2016 elections,” he argued.

He asserted that the most touted 'Free SHS' policy of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was not one of the leading campaign issues when Ghanaians demanded that the NPP come out with its manifesto before the 2016 general elections.

"...the Free SHS policy was not one of their leading campaign issues because right from the word, go, there was no message until 2 to 3 months to the elections when Ghanaians demanded from them before they brought their manifesto out,” he recalled.

He was of the view that inasmuch as the NDC has not rolled out its campaign message for the 2020 elections, does not mean the party is banned from having discussions on the ruling NPP's policies which are going bad.

"A certain senior lawyer who is the President said that his understanding of review means cancel and so if former President Mahama says that we will review a certain policy then what this simply means is that when he comes he will cancel that policy; it is very hard to understand. It is beyond comprehension that lawyer Akufo-Addo says that reviewing a policy means cancellation and then my brother Nana B also interpreting review to mean cancel,” he chided.