NANA CONDEMNS HOUSE ATTACK

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

New Patriotic Party (NPP) flag bearer for the December 7 polls, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has reacted to the attack on his private residence by supporters of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), assuring that he and his party members would not be intimidated by the Mahama-led administration.

“Let the president and his army of propaganda warriors be assured that they would not succeed in their intimidation and deliberate propaganda mongering against the NPP and I. We shall continue to believe in Ghana. We will muster the necessary courage to defend democratic Ghana and continue in our peaceful quest to win power in 2016 and bring back hope and opportunities to the people of Ghana, irrespective of their politics, creed, ethnicity, region, religion, age, gender or social status,” Nana Akufo-Addo said in a statement in Accra yesterday, condemning the violent attack on his Nima private residence by NDC thugs.

The attack has attracted condemnations from the international community, with strong warning of drastic actions against political actors at the centre of the mayhem.                                                         

Keep-Fit Ploy

The Onyaa Crescent home of Nana Akufo-Addo at the Nima Residential Area, Accra, became a ‘battlefield’ Sunday morning when the property was attacked by NDC supporters who were embarking on a keep-fit exercise.

In their own announcement released by the Greater Accra Regional NDC ahead of the walk dubbed, ‘Greater Accra NDC Walk for Victory’ scheduled for November 13 at 5:30 am, the NDC said it was starting from La T-Junction through La township, to Osu Oxford Street, Danquah Circle, Police Headquarters, Nima Traffic Light through Nima township to the Kawukudi Park, with President John Mahama as the special guest of honour.

The president indeed attended the event at Kawukudi where he said nobody could force power sharing on him, with Ghanaians wondering where that one was also coming from.

“It however, came as a surprise when the NDC activists said they were using the Nima Police Station area where Nana Akufo-Addo’s residence is located, as a converging point,” according to the NPP.

Hurling Bottles

It was in the process that hundreds of the NDC T-shirt-clad youth reportedly started hurling bottles of alcoholic beverages and stones into the house without any provocation.

Their bid to invade the house was said to have been aborted by two private security men at the gate who reportedly fired warning shots into the air.

Nana Akufo-Addo was in the Brong-Ahafo Region campaigning towards the December 7 polls at the time of the incident.

Police spokesperson, Supt Cephas Arthur, even worsened the matter when he claimed a bodyguard of the NPP aimed a gun at one of the police officers in the ensuing melee; and appeared to defend the NDC’s action.

A Deputy Minister of Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, was on TV3 justifying the attacks by claiming that Nana Akufo-Addo was stockpiling arms in his house ahead of the elections.

Premeditated Attack

The NPP has said utterances and actions of the NDC as a party showed clearly that the attack on Nana Akufo-Addo’s residence was premeditated.

The party posited, “For instance, when the NDC issued a statement to condemn the attack, they created the impression that it was Nana Akufo-Addo’s bodyguards that started the melee.”

NDC Defence

A statement by Joyce Bawa-Mogtari, campaign spokesperson for President Mahama’s re-election bid, said, “The sad developments were occasioned by an unprovoked attack followed by sporadic gunshots by identified hooligans from the Nima residence of Nana Akufo-Addo, and thankfully without any reactions whatsoever from our party supporters, have now been twisted by the opposition party and their media partners, Citi FM and Joy FM.”

She said records showed that ‘thugs’ from Nana Akufo-Addo’s residence “were wielding various types of weapons and firing them,” adding, “No NDC supporter and participant in Sunday’s health walk wanted to enter, let alone attack the Nima residence.”

Nana’s Statement

In reaction, Nana Akufo-Addo has indicated in a statement that his tour of the country had showed clearly that President Mahama and his NDC were desperate to remain in office and that the ruling party would do anything to attain its goal.

“One would, ordinarily, have treated it as a one-off spectacle, in spite of the nature of the attack. However, my four-day tour of the Brong-Ahafo Region has revealed a rather disturbing trend, leading up to this year’s elections.

“In Sankore, on Thursday, October 10, I witnessed at firsthand, the open brutalization of NPP members. Prior to my visit, two NPP members had been brutally murdered by NDC thugs. The scars of intimidation and assault by thugs recruited by Eric Opoku, MP for the constituency and Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, are still evident.  In Asutifi South - a few kilometres away - another Minister in President Mahama’s government, Collins Dauda, MP, is also perpetrating violence against his own constituents. Ghanaians heard on the radio comments made by the brother of Collins Dauda to the effect that he kills people on a daily basis,” Nana Addo lamented.

Nana Akufo-Addo said, “Unfortunately, these savage attacks against our party activists have gone unpunished, with the perpetrators of these acts walking free.”

Police Accused

According to Nana, “We have protested the apparently selective manner in which the law is being applied against those perceived to be political opponents of the current government. The police have looked on unconcerned, and the president of the land has not, on a single occasion, condemned any of these brutal acts by his ministers.”

Nana Akufo-Addo asked rhetorically, “Is it then a surprise that NDC foot soldiers have become emboldened to extend these attacks to all parts of the country?”

He said the peace of the nation, as well as the “consolidation of our democratic governance” is not negotiable for the NPP. “We urge all political parties and Ghanaians committed to promoting peace and deepening our democracy to work with us in securing these ends.”

Nana Addo charged, “Ghanaian democrats, no matter their party affiliation, should stand shoulder-to-shoulder to defend and promote the aims of our democratic Republic; that also include standing up against the bully.”