Touch not Asantehene; he’s the brain behind Ghana’s peace – NDC warned

The opposition National Democratic Congress has been cautioned to season their speech with salt in relation to issues bordering on the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.

Member of Parliament (MP) for Tema West Constituency, Hon. Carlos Ahenkorah, who issued the warning, declared his intention to declare a personal war against anybody who will speak against the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, following the latter's comments at a recent forum by the United Nations on the aftermath of the 2016 general elections.

"I'm personally ready to face anyone who stands up against the Asantehene, especially with respect to his UN statement on 2016 elections," the NPP MP vowed.

The Asantehene had claimed in an address abroad that his palace had to convince the former President John Dramani Mahama to hand over power after the polls that saw him losing with over one million votes to now President Akufo-Addo.

“At the conclusion of the last presidential and parliamentary elections, the country [Ghana] stood on the edge of disaster. The UN representatives and the diplomatic community were aghast, alarmed that Ghana was going to slip down the slope of electoral violence.

“Fortunately, the moral authority of the palace was at hand. We were able to intervene to persuade the losing candidate to accept his fate and fly both candidates for a quiet encounter to pave the way for a handover,” said the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II claimed.

But in a statement attributed to former Chief of Staff in the erstwhile Mahama administration, Mr. Julius Debrah, who stopped short of calling the revered King a liar, he said Mr. Mahama handed overpower out of his commitment to the rule of law and democracy.

"I state without equivocation that the decision to concede and congratulate Nana Akufo-Addo even before the official results were declared was taken by President Mahama himself without any persuasion from any quarter," he said.

Commenting on the issue on UTV's 'Adekye Nsroma' Morning Show, Carlos Ahenkorah, who doubles as the Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry categorically stated that the Asantehene "will never tell lies to score political cheap points because he is a very prominent citizen of this country".

He issued a strong note of caution to NDC members denigrating the Otumfuo following his comments to be circumspect in their utterances.

"Members of the NDC should know that the Asantehene will never tell lies...every tape of his is full of wisdom just like King Solomon in the Bible...

"....the NDC should be extremely careful otherwise every citizen in this country will turn against them if they try to paint bad and declare the Asantehene a liar," he warned.