Go Away! NDC Goons Attack Minister

Posted: Daily Guide |Friday, 30 July 2010

By Charles Takyi-Boadu
The conference room of the Ministry of Information nearly turned into a jungle yesterday when angry foot-soldiers of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) stormed the premises to cause confusion at a press conference being addressed by Minister of Youth and Sports, Akua Sena Dansua.

No sooner had the Minister started answering questions from journalists about the transfer of two directors of the Ministry to other Ministries than two angry men, reeking of cigarette, forcibly made their way to the packed conference room, shouting “you can’t sack anybody, go away.”

The comment diverted all attention including that of the Minister and other dignitaries like Information Minister John Tia Akologu to the two hoodlums.

Most of them were wondering how the two managed to enter the room to disrupt the programme with such comments, resulting in a temporary hold-up of the event which was aired live on national television.

Some NDC newspapers had taken on the Minister yesterday for causing the transfer of Abdulai Yakubu, the Chief Director and Allen Agbenetor, acting Head of Human Resource at the Ministry, who have been described as ‘NDC boys.’

An obviously shock-stricken Ms. Dansua, who watched in disbelief, stressed that the behaviour of the foot-soldiers could be part of a grand design by some members of her own party to push her out of government as Minister of Youth and Sports as was done to her predecessors.

However, she noted that no matter the extent to which those people took their schemes, they would definitely fail. Some journalists were compelled to drag the two hoodlums out.

Not even the presence of some gun-wielding policemen could scare them since they were still shouting at the top of their voices and insisting on being allowed to go and sit in the room.

Ms. Dansua, a former journalist with the stated-owned New Times Corporation, asked her colleague journalists to help her to succeed since at the end of the day, the credit would come to all journalists.

When the issue seemed to have died down, Western Regional Deputy Women’s Organiser of the NDC and a die-hard supporter of Sekondi Hasaacas football club, Araba Tagoe, smuggled the two NDC hoodlums into the room.

Not too long after the programme re-started, the two again began interrupting the Minister’s delivery, defying an order from John Tia for them to comport themselves.

Some media personnel who had been compelled to stand, in view of the fact that seats meant for them had been taken over by party supporters and the National Association of Women Supporters Union (NAWSU), informed the two policemen who took the two hoodlums out of the conference room.

They still struggled with the policemen since they did not want to leave.

Prior to that, some journalists had registered their protest at government’s decision to allow members of the public to attend the Meet-the-Press session which was specifically designed for government officials to address the media on issues relating to their various Ministries.

At this point, Information Minister John Tia had no option but to warn members of the public who got the opportunity to participate in the programme not to abuse the privilege since it was an entirely media programme, saying “it is not a forum for fisticuffs.”