Posted: Daily Guide :www.dailyguideghana.com
Tuesday, 07 September 2010
By Charles Takyi-Boadu
Some elements in the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) are trying strenuously to incite the chiefs and people of the Central region against the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
This campaign is being spearheaded by the NDC’s former Central regional propaganda secretary, Bernard Allotey Jacobs, who currently heads the party’s communications team in the region.
This follows comments by Mr Allotey Jacobs claiming that Nana Addo made a remark to the effect that he will ‘show’ the chiefs and people of the area if he and the NPP should come to power in 2012.
The comment was supposed to have been made after the Ogua Fetu Afahye over the weekend when Nana Addo and his entourage were not given the expected recognition.
Allotey later stated that it was some of Nana’s supporters who followed him when he was leaving the durbar grounds that made the comment.
A strongly-worded statement from the office of Nana Addo and signed by his aide, Herbert Krapa said “this is just one of the many crude tactics of the NDC meant to generate discontent and dissatisfaction against Nana Akufo-Addo” and described it as “a blatant lie”.
Nana Addo said he did not make any such comment at the durbar grounds or elsewhere since ethnic or tribal sentiments are not part of his vocabulary, just as the language of reprisals and punishment is foreign to him.
The statement stated, “Clearly, Allotey Jacobs and the NDC spin doctors are worried about the warm reception that the people of the Central Region accorded Nana Akufo-Addo and his entourage at the durbar grounds”, stressing that “the people of the Central Region are not excluded from the hardships being visited on the Ghanaian people by the NDC administration of President Mills and are looking to the NPP and their flag-bearer, Nana Akufo-Addo, to bring them in the near future much needed relief.”
The statement said “no amount of malicious propaganda will eradicate the goodwill that the NPP and Nana Akufo-Addo are currently enjoying in the Central Region and, indeed, throughout the country”, emphasising that Nana Akufo-Addo is content to leave propaganda politics and the politics of lies and fabrications to those who know no other politics.
The statement further said that “the people of the Central Region and those of the other nine regions of Ghana are an essential part of our nation’s fabric and an Akufo-Addo presidency will treat them with respect, dignity and fairness. The good people of the Central Region are fully aware of this.”
Close aide to Nana Addo, Boakye Agyarko says Allotey-Jacob’s comments could only be borne out of malice and mischief since according to him, neither Nana Addo nor any member of his entourage made any such comment.
In an interview with DAILY GUIDE, Mr Agyarko, who was part of the delegation, asked rhetorically “where was he Allotey Jacobs standing to have heard…in this noisy crowd, to have heard Nana Addo made a comment.”
According to Mr Agyarko, he could not fathom how Mr. Allotey Jacobs could have heard Nana Addo make such a comment in the midst of the drumming and dancing, insisting “it’s a fabrication just to incite the Central region against Nana Addo.”
“Nana never said any thing like this. He never spoke anywhere and never granted an interview to anybody,” he said.
Right from the durbar grounds, Mr Agyarko said, “he walked straight to the car and we drove off so where was he standing to have heard Nana make a comment to punish Cape Coast, for what? What did Cape Coast do or what did Oguaman do?”
He thus believes “the people who did all of these machinations have exposed themselves as liars and they are trying to cover up.”
At the time of the supposed incident, Allotey claimed he was talking to one Kwamena Duncan and another person who is the chairman of the Nasara club.
For this reason, he said he would be surprised if Nana Addo and members of his delegation claimed they did not hear what their supporters were saying.
Mr Allotey thus attributed the comments to Nana Addo since according to him, he failed to stop his supporters from coming out with what he described as an emotional outburst, saying “that does not help Nana Addo himself.”
Interestingly, responding to queries from the paper yesterday, Mr Allotey Jacobs said he cannot identify any of the individuals who said the NPP will ‘show’ the chiefs and people of the Central region when they come to power, saying “actually I don’t know them.
It was just this morning that I heard Nitiwul saying on Metro TV that he was part of the entourage but I don’t know him personally.”
He noted that “I even heard that Isaac Edumadze was part of it, I even heard that the former Minister for Works and Housing, Kwame Bartels was part of it. We didn’t see them.
You see Nana Akufo-Addo was surrounded by some few people, some of them ordinary supporters. I mean you can’t identify that this was that or this one is this.”
Meanwhile, the Central regional executives of the NPP have protested against what they believe to be a deliberate plan to ignore their leader even though he (Nana Addo) had informed the organizers of his participation in Saturday's festival.
The executives are incensed because they claim regional executives of the NDC were acknowledged during the programme, whilst Nana Addo was ignored, accusing President Mills of leaving out Nana Addo while greeting dignitaries at the durbar.
Mr Allotey Jacobs believes what happened over the weekend was in response to Akufo-Addo’s reference to Prof Mills as 'Prof do little', saying “I think that statement made by the NPP flag-bearer didn’t go down well with the people of Cape Coast.”