Why will I join 'Kum yen preko' demo when Mahama was absent - Ayariga asks

Bankroller of the All People’s Congress (APC), Dr Hassan Ayariga has justified his decision to stay off “Kum yen preko” which was organized last Tuesday in Accra.

Though he shares in the concerns raised by the various groupings that hit the streets, he questioned why he will join such a demonstration when the other flagbearers like John Mahama and others who fall within his category were conspicuously missing.

He revealed that showing up for such an exercise would have also given people the opportunity to tag him as a member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) which is not the case.

“The issues raised were very relevant, considering the current happenings in the country where many Ghanaians are faced with hardship due to government’s mismanagement of the economy, businesses collapsing and frequent attacks on journalists”, he revealed on Bolgatanga-based A1 radio.

Thousands clad in red on Tuesday joined the Coalition for Social Justice (CSJ) for a demonstration against what they described as hardship, insecurity and oppression experienced under the current Akufo-Addo administration.

Earlier in a statement, former President John Dramani Mahama issued a statement backing the demonstration. He said “Our country is on the downward trend, with an unbearable increase in the cost of living; the citizenry doesn’t feel safe and yet Government continues to oppress and intimidate the people including journalists. This state of affairs is a threat to our democracy especially as the moral society remain unconcerned and surprisingly silent on the developments in our country, Ghana.

I welcome, endorse and I encourage all to step out tomorrow and join the #Kumy3npr3ko demonstration organized by the Coalition for Social Justice.

There is a lot of pent-up anger among Ghanaians and it’s beginning to manifest even among the security services. This manifestation gives all the allied groups participating in it, the opportunity to vent.

It is in our country’s interest that we speak out and demonstrate our disapproval of the Akufo-Addo style of leadership, which has visited unprecedented hardships on Ghanaians.