General News of Wednesday, 4 March 2015
Source: Graphic Online
Some members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) were Wednesday morning allegedly “thrown out” of a demonstration that was organised by the Coalition for the Defence of Equal Citizen (CODEC) in Accra in protest against ethnic and tribal politics in Ghana.
Those thrown out included the NPP’s Communication Director, Nana Akomea, National Youth Organiser Sammy Awuku, Member of Parliament for Ablekuma West, Madam Ursula Owusu, Gifty Oware and a host of other NPP people.
CODEC organised the demonstration against comments made by a leading member of the opposition NPP, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, deemed to be ethnocentric.
The ad hoc group was formed purposefully in response to the former finance Minister’s supposed comments to the effect that even though Ghana’s resources were concentrated in Akan dominated parts of the country, it was non-Akans, whose areas were without resources that were currently at the helm of governance.
Mr Osafo-Maafo has admitted speaking at a forum in the Eastern Region but denied making any ethnocentric comments as being purported and has subsequently said his voice has been doctored on the secretly recorded audiotape.
Alleging that they were thrown out when some NPP members tried to join the demonstration, Mr Sammy Awuku in an interview on Accra-based radio station Citi FM said, “first of all it was in solidarity with all Ghanaians and not to see a repetition of what happened in Odododiodio where my sister Ursula and other groups were chased out because they were of a particular ethnic origin.”
“We also wanted to do away with ethnic politics where the president would go and stand somewhere and say vote for me because I am a northerner. So in solidarity with all the masses, we decided to join this peaceful protest.”
“But we didn’t know that it was organised by the NDC because CODEC was non-partisan. We got there and the NDC was shouting at us that we should leave and that they didn’t want us there. We felt we were with placards like one Ghana, I believe in Ghana and things that would do away with tribal politics,” Mr Awuku said.
Mr Awuku who had gone to the studios of Accra-based radio station Citi FM to complain about the incident said, “so indeed we were very surprised, myself, Nana Akomea, Madam Ursula Owusu and Gifty Oware and a host of our party people, with communicators and Members of Parliament.”
“We are surprised that if you want to promote a one Ghana agenda, then you don’t throw an invitation to all people to come on board when you know that it is being organised for NDC folks.”