Party militias: We're just 'dancing around the problem' – Asiedu Nketia

The main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has said the stakeholders involved in the dialogue toward eliminating party militias are just dancing around the main problem.

Following the postponement of the adoption of the National Peace Council's roadmap to end the problem after the fourth meeting of the stakeholders, the General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia told journalists that: “This is a big problem which needs the engagement of all stakeholders who have a role to play in eliminating vigilantism”.

“Two political parties alone cannot eliminate vigilantism”, Mr Asiedu Nketia said, adding: “It needs everybody on board”.

“So, if we are able to determine if it is the work of the police which hasn’t gone down well that is why the canker is not being addressed, then the police leadership needs to commit to doing their work better. That is how you draw a roadmap for implementation”, he insisted, wondering: “How can we be sitting down here and be drawing roadmaps for issues that we don’t have control over?”

“If the NPP side raises an issue and there are recommendations to the president, then they are recommendations because we can’t direct the President.

“How then can we develop a roadmap for the issues that we have determined? We seem to be dancing around the problem without any solution. So, we are saying that, the President cannot ask us to help him do his work and then he will be withholding the materials we need for the work from us,” Mr Asiedu Nketia said.

The party has been demanding the publication of the Short Commission report on the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election gun violence so all the stakeholders can be abreast of its content as part of helping the dialogue on ending party militarism.

President Nana Akufo-Addo has, however, said he will only make the report public when he is satisfied to do so.