{"id":597329,"date":"2019-03-08T11:03:20","date_gmt":"2019-03-08T11:03:20","guid":{"rendered":"

John Mahama has previously said his party is ready to meet the NPP \"boot for boot.\"<\/p>

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Former President, John Mahama, has reacted to the Joy News expos\u00e9 which detailed how a private militia operates from the seat of government.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

In a Twitter post Friday morning, Ghana\u2019s main\u00a0opposition leader and 2020 NDC flagbearer described the documentary as \u201charrowing\u201d, after it showed a group \u2018De-Eye\u2019 has been training at the Jubilee Annex, a security zone.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The unlicensed group said to provide security for the New Patriotic Party is believed to\u00a0have a nationwide strength of about 5,000 members, has about 400 who have been training at the Jubilee House Annex at the Osu Castle in Accra.<\/p>\n

National Security Ministry has attempted to move the group from the Presidency Annex but powerful hands stopped the Ministry. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Joining in the social media reaction, President John Mahama\u00a0wrote: \u201c\u2026clearly, this admin has produced enough paint to paint the whole nation black.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Watched a harrowing expose of how the Osu Castle, until 2013 the office ofthe President, now used as an Annex, has become the HQ & training camp of a private militia wing of the NPP & @NAkufoAddo<\/a>. Clearly, this admin has produced enough paint to paint the whole nation black.<\/p>\n

\u2014 John Dramani Mahama (@JDMahama) 8 March 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That statement is a dig at the government after the former President was criticised for \u2018painting Ghana black\u2019 when he showed a video of a recent electoral violence to foreign diplomats.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mahama responded, the government gave him the paint when security forces unleashed violence during the Ayawaso-West Wuogon by-election.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Using the phrase again, John Mahama jabbed that the Joy News documentary presents more paint to wit more embarrassment.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is growing concern, Ghana\u2019s two main political parties the governing New Patriotic Party and the opposition National Democratic Congress pay lip service to peace and security.<\/p>\n

While both parties have affiliated militia groups, the leadership of these parties insist these groups are not sanctioned by the party.<\/p>\n

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There is a push to have these groups disbanded but while the two parties have been locked in trading political points over the menace.<\/p>\n

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The group received considerable state support, training in the Presidency Annex since the party won power in 2017. Choman, the leader of the group, has his office inside the Presidency Annex and is a former personal bodyguard to the NPP\u00a0presidential candidate Nana Akufo-Addo who is now president.<\/span><\/p>\n

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What has the gov\u2019t said?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The official response of the Presidency is that \u201cthe President has no knowledge of the alleged activities of this said group, let alone sanction their activities…checks from National Security have revealed that no such group is operating from the Castle.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

President Akufo-Addo himself has been mute as of Friday morning, more than 12 hours after the documentary aired.<\/span><\/p>\n