Akufo-Addo slams gagging of NPP communicators

For the first time, it looks like Nana Akufo-Addo is in agreement with the views of the John Kufuor/Alan Kyerematen faction of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The point of agreement is that, both parties are in disagreement regarding the gagging order placed on communicators of the party.

Page 17 of Monday’s issue of the Daily Graphic quoted the twice-defeated Presidential Candidate and the 2016 Flagbearer of the NPP, Williams Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo as saying, “Ghana ranks high in the freedom of the press league and the NPP can claim it led that fight.”

Nana Addo, according to the publication in the Daily Graphic, made the declaration when addressing a conference of the International Democratic Union (IDU) in Seoul, Korea, last Friday.

The NPP 2016 Flagbearer was further quoted as saying, “When our party came into government in 2001, we quickly repealed the Criminal Libel Law which had inhibited the press for years from doing its work as a public watchdog. My modest self had the honour, as Attorney-General, of piloting the passage of the repeal through our Parliament.”

Per the above, it is more than explicit that Nana Akufo-Addo abhors any form of suppression, particularly with regards to free speech, and that the gagging order slammed on his party communicators is not an exception.

Strangely enough, whiles the NPP 2016 Flagbearer was showering praises on himself and the NPP as a political party for being the apostles of free speech, the party’s Deputy Director of Communications, Mr. Perry Okudzeto, was in strong defense of the ban placed on its communicators in last Friday’s issue of the Weekly Sun newspaper.

Mr. Perry Okudzeto is quoted as saying, “at the moment we have suspended all forms of interviews involving any member of our communications team, at least, for the time being; because the party has reunited and we are trying to avoid anything that will generate any misunderstanding once again”.

According to him, the reason is because, “when they give platform for interviews, they turn-out to say things that in a way affect the image of the party and others’ respond to their comments. This creates misunderstanding; and that is why we are doing that“.

The above statements viewed as a betrayal of the democratic credentials of the NPP, forced one Samuel Kwame Ataa from the former President John Kufuor/Alan Kyerematen camp to slam the National Executive for the said ban.

In our earlier story published on Monday, Samuel Kwame Ataa, in exclusive conversation with this paper, believes that the decision was to cover up the way and manner members of the Kufuor/Alan faction are being sidelined and terrorized.

Buttressing how certain persons align to the aforementioned faction have been marginalized, Samuel Ataa cited the recent exclusion of Michael Ampong, aka Dzagbele, Mr. Kenwuud Nuworsu, the Volta Regional Chairman - disappointed National Youth Organizer and Pius Hadzede, the NPP’s 2012 Ketu South Parliamentary aspirant, from the party’s Communications team as earlier announced by Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, the General Secretary.