NPP has confidence in Supreme Court – Bin-Salih

Jake Obetsebi lamptey, NPP National ChairmanThe New Patriotic Party (NPP) has absolute confidence and faith in the Supreme Court and would, therefore, accept the final verdict in the 2012 election petition no matter the outcome, the Upper West Regional second vice chairman of the NPP, Mr Hafiz Bin-Salih, has assured.

According to him, the laws of the country are in the bosom of the Supreme Court judges, hence, “it beats me when parties in the case speak as if they have the luxury of an alternative to the decision that the Supreme Court shall arrive at.”

He, therefore, called on the leaders of the NPP and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to guard against intemperate and vitriolic language and added that the victors in the case must jubilate in moderation so as not to step on the toes of the losers.

Mr Bin Salih was speaking at a sensitisation workshop on the election petition, organised by HELD Ghana, a non–governmental organisation for students of the T. I. Ahmadiyya Senior High School in Wa in the Upper West Region.

He said the first petitioner in the case, Nana Akufo-Addo, had already stated that he was not prepared to become President of Ghana at the expense of a single drop of Ghanaian blood and that was still the position of the entire members of the NPP.

“Ghana belongs to all of us and we must all ensure that the peace we are enjoying is maintained. We should not live under the false impression that political conflict can never erupt in Ghana. God does not love Ghana more than Kenya or Cote d’Ivoire, so we must as a people be mindful about our conduct after the Supreme Court verdict so as not to derail the peace we are enjoying,” he added.

For his part, an executive member of the NDC, Dr Munawar Issahaq, told the students that the Supreme Court is the highest court of Ghana and that its decisions were binding and should be respected.

He said electoral disputes were normal, especially grievances before the Supreme Court.

“As students going through character moulding, you should obey the decisions of the courts. You must also tell your friends and parents to refrain from any act which is likely to bring chaos into the country,” he said.

He called on Ghanaians to educate one another so that “we have peace, unity and tranquility, which are catalyst for development.

The Programme Manager of HELD Ghana, Mr Salih Samsudeen, said the NGO had organised a similar programme in some selected senior high schools in the Upper West Region as part of its contribution in sustaining peace in the region and country as a whole.

By George Folley/Daily Graphic/Ghana