Nana Addo flays NDC propaganda

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.”

Anita’s Victims Cry Out

Posted: Daily Guide |www.dailyguideghana.com
Monday, 06 September 2010
By Charles Takyi-Boadu
FOUR persons who were injured when the vehicle of Anita De-Souza, National Democratic Congress (NDC) Women’s Organiser, ran into them in the heat of the recent bye-election in the Atiwa constituency have spoken to DAILY GUIDE about their tortuous ordeal.

This was when the paper visited them at the Enyiresi Government Hospital to obtain first-hand information of what they recall about the incident.

The four are 18-year-old Isaac Agyemang Duah, a student of the Koforidua Senior High School, 40-year-old Ebenezer Adomako aka Kwasi Willie, a farmer, 38-year-old George Abu, also a farmer and 20-year-old Seth Ampofo.

They gave their accounts of how the ash-coloured Toyota Prado 4 wheel drive with registration number GE 5440-10 maimed them.

The vehicle, at the time of the incident, was said to be driven by a certain Akwasi Ernest, who is yet to report to the police.

At the time of the visit, some family members and New Patriotic Party (NPP), faithful led by the Eastern Regional Chairman of the NPP, Dr. Samuel Annor, had gone to visit the victims and presented some items to them.

Isaac was at home listening to radio, Oman FM, when he heard that the voter turnout at the Presby Junior High School polling station was very low.

He therefore informed the NPP treasurer in Abomosu, one Mr. Oboubi about what he had heard and told him he knew some old women including his grandmother in the area who might not be able to walk to the polling station so they could organize a car to convey them to the polling station, which he agreed to do.

On their way back from seeing the old women, Isaac narrated that Obuobi had a call from his son, one Agyepong that some NDC members (Azorka Boys) had come to steal ballot boxes at the polling center.

ImageAt this point, he said they parted ways since Mr. Obuobi told him he was going to make arrangements for a vehicle to go and pick up the old women to enable them to vote.

Isaac said he proceeded to the area where the supposed Azorka Boys were reported to be causing mayhem.

In the heat of events, he said one Kofi Akuoko and several other people were butchered with machetes and clubs, with blood oozing all over their bodies.

Just as he and some of the bystanders were about to flee from the wrath of the thugs, Isaac said the only thing he could recall was a vehicle running over them.

Isaac said the next thing he realized when he opened his eyes was that he was on a hospital bed at the emergency ward.

Since the incident happened within seconds, Isaac said he could not see the vehicle and that even if he did, the excruciating pain he was going through was enough to make him forget how it looked like.

He admitted there was a roadblock in the middle of the road in front of Mona Palace where the incident occurred but could not tell whether it was mounted by the townsfolk or the police since there were policemen also there.

On his part, Ebenezer Adomako aka Kwasi Willie, said he and some other friends were there when some NDC thugs attempted to steal the ballot box.

According to him, a heated exchange ensued between them and the thugs and in the process, the thugs slashed a certain young man’s head.

This angered the townsfolk since they could not comprehend the action of the thugs.

In the heat of the argument, he said, a vehicle which he later got to know was owned by the National Women’s Organizer of the NDC ran into them, with his right thumb virtually splitting apart whilst the vehicle ran over some of the boys.

George Abu claimed that he was on his way home after going to cast his vote when he heard a friend shout out his name.

Image
Seth Ampofo
As he turned around, he was hit by the vehicle and fell unconscious before he was taken to the hospital.

According to him, he was surprised and angry at the spin being put on the entire story since some individuals had come to interview him and his other colleagues and were asking them to lie that they were knocked down by an articulated truck.

Seth Ampofo could not tell his story since the pain he was going through did not allow him to speak.

When this paper visited the hospital, Ampofo’s wounds were being dressed.

The anguish, wailings and screams of the patient sent chills through the ward, and the DAILY GUIDE team, unable to stand the pain, packed their tape recorders, cameras and notebooks and slipped out of the ward.

Not even the consolation of his attendant nurses could stop the wailing and pain that he felt.

He cried like a baby while invoking curses on whoever might have caused him this predicament.

Meanwhile, some residents of the area have corroborated the stories of the victims and have confirmed the colour and number of the vehicle which ran through them, which is no different from what has already been put out as an ash Toyota Prado with registration number GE 5440-10.

Alan Party’ Shot Down

Posted: Daily Guide |www.dailyguideghana.com
Friday, 03 September 2010
By Charles Takyi-Boadu
Even before it established itself as a recognised political force in the country, issues have started popping up about the credibility of the so-called United Front Party (UFP).

The intention behind its formation was exposed yesterday when the founder of the party, Kwasi Addae, could not even tell the motto of his party.

This was when he spoke on Adom FM’s morning show concerning unfolding developments about the new party.

Kwasi Addae is the owner of Odike ventures, a shoe trading company which has branches in Kumasi and Accra.

He could also not tell the logo of his party which he claimed to have a membership that cuts across the political divides.

Addae admitted to have been a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and lately a New Patriotic Party (NPP) member.

Even though he admitted that the Electoral Commission (EC) had asked him and his cohort to revise their party colours since it had some semblance with that of the NPP, he could also not give the new colours, asking that he be given time to go to the office to confirm that.

This therefore raised doubts about the credibility of the party and its founders, considering the vile efforts being employed to link it to Alan Kyerematen, even though he has not only denounced the speculation but has also declared his unflinching support for the NPP presidential candidate, Nana Addo.

With the exception of Mr Addae, the founder of the party, who has come out openly to defend it, all other persons who have been linked to it have disassociated themselves from the party.

Chief among them was J.K Owusu-Boakye aka Albito, the man who was speculated to be the general secretary of the party. He has completely denied his involvement in the party.

Albito, who used to be part of Alan Kyerematen’s campaign team in the Ashanti region during the NPP presidential primary, could not conceive how he was named as part of the supposed disgruntled Alan supporters who have decided to leave the NPP to form their own party since according to him, he has not thought of any such thing.

Though he supported Alan’s campaign, Mr Owusu-Boakye said after the election of Nana Addo as the NPP presidential candidate, they decided to bury their differences and throw their weight behind him, stressing that his allegiance was to the NPP and not any individual in the party.

For this reason, he said they have since been working to secure victory for Nana Addo and the NPP in the 2012.

Another person who has also distanced himself from the UFP is Kumasi-based businessman Joseph Amoah, former Co-ordinator for Alan Kyerematen’s campaign team in the Central region, who was also speculated to be the chairman of the party.

In separate accounts, they narrated that just after the NPP primary, Alan himself who contested but lost the flagbearership to Nana Addo asked them and all other persons who supported his presidential bid to throw their weight behind Nana Addo.

They therefore could not understand why any individual or group of persons would concoct stories to cause confusion in the NPP, especially when no such thing exists.

NPP General Secretary Kwadwo Owusu-Afriyie has condemned calls by a newspaper for Alan Kyerematen to distance himself from the new party.

A statement issued under his hand yesterday described these speculations and Alan’s supposed involvement in the UFP as completely untrue.

He noted that “the leadership of the New Patriotic Party has noted the unsuccessful attempt by our political opponents and their partners in the media to create some impression that the followers of Mr Alan Kyerematen have defected from the party to form a new party.”

This, he said, was because “all the unsuccessful aspirants in the August 7 congress (including Mr Kyerematen) have committed themselves by word and by their actions to the success of Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP in the 2012 general elections”, indicating that the NPP would go into the next elections more united than ever.

He recalled that prior to the party’s recent presidential primary, some of their political opponents, especially the NDC and their media accomplices, suggested that the NPP was likely to break up after the congress.

Though nothing of that sort happened, he noted that the NDC and its agents were not moving from their malicious ways as they continued to peddle false information that followers of Alan Kyerematen were planning a defection from the NPP.

Whilst he admitted that any Ghanaian had the liberty to form a new political party, the General Secretary said “it is completely dishonest for anybody to suggest that any rumour or any formation of a new political party must be a defection from the NPP.”

The NPP has accordingly asked the newspaper to retract that false story and its call on Mr Kyerematen to dissociate himself from anything.

The party also had a word of advice for the NDC and its proxies in the media: “Instead of dedicating so much time planning defection fabrications about the NPP, they should dedicate the time planning measures to honour their many failed promises.”

It added, “They should spend time doing something about the worsening conditions of living in the country.”