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NDC General Secretary asked to back
allegations against NPP
aspirants
Accra, Dec. 18, Ghanadot/GNA - The presidential aspirants of
the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) have given Mr. Johnson
Asiedu Nketia, General Secretary of the opposition National
Democratic Congress (NDC) a 48-hour ultimatum to retract and
provide proof to back certain statements he was reported to
have made at a rally in Accra organized by the Committee for
Joint Action (CJA) last Tuesday December 11 to round off its
"Yewuo" demonstration against what it describes as economic
hardships in the country.
Mr. Asiedu Nketia was reported to have asserted that "a gang
of thieves" were in contest for one of them to be elected as
flag bearer of the NPP and that the one who emerges the
winner would be "the biggest thief".
Speaking at a press conference in Accra on Tuesday,
Mr.Joseph Asamoah Gyamfi, a member of aspirant Jake Obetsebi
Lamptey's campaign team and a spokesperson for all the 17
aspirants called on Mr. Asiedu Nketia to render an
unqualified apology to all the aspirants before the 48-hour
deadline expires.
He said failure of Mr. Asiedu Nketia to apologize and
provide proof would lead to the institution of individual
and collective legal action against him.
"We the 17 aspirants of the NPP completely reject Mr. Asiedu
Nketia's accusation that we are thieves. Since he sounded so
categorical, we challenge him to provide within 48 hours,
the proof that he has to back his allegation. If as we know,
he has no proof to support the accusation, we are demanding
that he retracts his statement forthwith and offer an
appropriate apology which will be approved by us or our
chosen representatives ensuring that it gets the same
prominence in the media as his accusation," he said.
Mr. Gyamfi urged Dr.Kwabena Adjei, National Chairman of the
NDC to call the General Secretary to order, adding;
"Ghanaians no longer appreciate or tolerate such crude
language which was the practice during the era of the
Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC).
He said the aspirants are men of substance who have sweated
over decades to build more than adequate resources for
themselves and would not dip their hands into national
coffers.
Mr. Gyamfi said since each of the 17 aspirants have
established contacts with individuals and institutions who
make substantial contributions in support of their
campaigns, such allegations cannot be left unsubstantiated.
"In seven short years, the NPP government has made it
possible for all Ghanaians to participate in politics
without fear of reprisal and without seeing political rivals
as enemies to be maligned or eliminated," Mr. Gyamfi noted.
He said it is rather unfortunate that there are people who
are potential agents for plunging the country into the sort
of chaos that had bedevilled other countries in various
parts of Africa.
Mr. Gyamfi said such people still espoused immorality and
social conflicts as virtues, which can be pursued to gain
political power.
GNA
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