NPP, NDC clash: Akufo-Addo condemns police, Mahama

The 2016 flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo, has condemned attacks on his residence at Nima in Accra on Sunday.

There were clashes between supporters of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the NPP, which started after supporters of both parties, converged on the vicinity of Mr Akufo-Addo’s Nima residence during their respective Keep Fit activities.

Reacting to the incident in a statement, the three-time flag bearer accused the police of selective justice, adding: “Let the president and his army of propaganda warriors be assured that they would not succeed in their intimidation and deliberate propaganda mongering against the NPP and [me]”.

Below is his full statement

Sunday, November 13, 2016, was a sad day in our nation’s history. On that day, the Ghanaian people saw a most unbecoming sight: the home of the leader of Ghana’s biggest opposition party being attacked by supporters of the ruling National Democratic Congress government.

One would, ordinarily, have treated it as a one-off spectacle, in spite of the nature of the attack. However, my four-day tour of the Brong Ahafo Region has revealed a rather disturbing trend, leading up to this year’s elections.

In Sankore, on Thursday, October 10, I witnessed, at firsthand, the open brutalisation of NPP members. Prior to my visit, two NPP members had been brutally murdered by NDC thugs. The scars of intimidation and assault by thugs recruited by Hon Eric Opoku, MP for the constituency and Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, are still evident.

In Asutifi South, a few kilometres away, another Minister in President Mahama’s government, Collins Dauda, MP, is also perpetrating violence against his own constituents. Ghanaians heard on the radio comments made by the brother of Collins Dauda to the effect that he kills people on a daily basis.

Unfortunately, these savage attacks against our party activists have gone unpunished, with the perpetrators of these acts walking free. We have protested the apparently selective manner in which the law is being applied against those perceived to be political opponents of the current government. The police have looked on unconcerned, and the President of the land has not, on a single occasion, condemned any of these brutal acts by his Ministers.

Is it then a surprise that NDC footsoldiers have become emboldened to extend these attacks to all parts of the country?

For us in the NPP, the peace of the nation, as well as the consolidation of our democratic governance are not negotiable. We urge all political parties and Ghanaians committed to promoting peace and deepening our democracy to work with us in securing these ends. Ghanaian democrats, no matter their party affiliation, should stand shoulder to shoulder to defend and promote the aims of our democratic republic, which also include standing up against the bully.

Let the president and his army of propaganda warriors be assured that they will not succeed in their intimidation and deliberate propaganda mongering against the NPP and I.

We shall continue to believe in Ghana. We will muster the necessary courage to defend democratic Ghana and continue in our peaceful quest to win power in 2016 and bring back hope and opportunities to the people of Ghana, irrespective of their politics, creed, ethnicity, region, religion, age, gender or social status.

……signed……

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo

2016 NPP Presidential Candidate