BITTER FIGHT IN NDC OVER KONADU & MILLS

Tension is mounting between supporters of President John Evans Atta Mills (L) and former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings (R)

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday April 1, 2011
THERE WAS pandemonium at the studios of Hot Fm, an Accra-based radio station on Wednesday when two spokespersons for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) turned the place into a boxing ring.

But for the timely intervention of host Omanhene Kwabena Asante, the co-panelists as well as some staff of the station, the situation would have turned nastier.

The argument over a topic for discussion got so heated and subsequently listerners heard voices saying: ‘don’t push me’, ‘I’ll beat you’ ‘I’ll kill you’ in the background before the programme was taken off air for a commercial break.

The two NDC men who engaged in the scuffle were Eben Duncan said to be with the office of Kofi Totobi Kwakye at the Osu Castle, and Stephen Yelhi-Bona Akachawon, a member of the NDC Communication team in the Northern Region, who said President Atta Mills’ face alone will lead to the defeat of the NDC in 2012.

It all started when Mr. Akachawon stormed the station during one of its flagship programmes called ‘Dwene ho biom’ to vent his spleen on the inability of the Mills’ led NDC government to find the killers of Ya Na Yakubu Andani II, Overlord of Dagbon.

At the time he was given the microphone to speak, the host had already introduced the panelists for the show namely; Eben Duncan (NDC), Yaw Adomako Baafi (NPP), Kofi Osei-Ameyaw (NPP and a first timer on the programme) and Clement Opoku Kyeremanteng (a social commentator).

Mr. Akachawon did not mince words at all and accused his own party of making huge campaign promises but failing to fulfill them and went ahead to say that the government led by President Mills lied to get power.

He said during the 2008 campaign, the NDC designed specific messages for the various regions and the message for the Northern region was that when elected, the NDC will find and prosecute the Ya Na’s killers because they have evidence including photographs of the perpetrators adding that President Mills and all the MPs in Tamale used the Ya Na murder to come to solicit votes and come to power.

“When in power, the NDC arrested some people and created the impression as if they were going to jail them but the release of the suspects by the court shows that the arrests were a camouflage.”

“Thousands of people are disappointed in the Mills administration. They are disillusioned. They promised us heaven and have not even built a gate. The leadership must change otherwise the NDC will lose the 2012 elections.”

The highly charged Mr. Akachawon described appointees of President Mills as business people who did not care about those at the grass root adding “people are angry with the President and are urging him to get down. His appointees continue to massage issues for us.”

He said President Mills has no policy direction adding “if I should ask the President one policy direction of his government he will not be able to answer me.”

Then he dropped the bombshell that, “If Nana Konadu should come out to contest I will support her because President Mills’ face is too ugly for the party.”

He said there was widespread corruption in the Mills administration and alleged that John Jinapor, an aide to the Vice President had built a 4-storey house in Accra within two years of the NDC government and that he had photographs of the said building.

Mr. Jinapor soon after these pronouncements called into the programme to confront Mr. Akachawon about the allegations and dared him to produce the evidence for him to resign from his position as spokesperson of the Vice President.

After Jinapor ended the call, Mr. Akachawon also threw a challenge to him not to provoke him because, “I do not speak any how.”

At this juncture, Eben Duncan described Mr. Akachawon as a frustrated person who was using the wrong channel to get his grievances addressed but Mr. Akachawon hit back to say he had the right to express his views as a party member.

At this juncture all hell broke loose and Daily Guide learnt that the two supporters of the NDC had to be physically separated before calm was restored.