Nana Obiri Boahen, Deputy General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party
Deputy General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Obiri Boahen says ex-President Mahama should not act holier than thou in the issue of closure of radio stations.
His statement comes after the former President chastised the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government for closing down some radio stations in the country, ostensibly due to their inability to pay for the renewal of their licenses.
He [John Mahama] believes that the radio stations were only closed down because the government “disliked” them; an act that he says could set a bad precedent.
But Obiri Boahen believes the precedent had already been set by the NDC government.
He expressed on the ‘Epa Hoa Daben’ show hosted by Don Prah: “John Mahama is complaining about radio stations being closed down and yet it was during his time that Choice FM was closed down”.
“Berekum’s Nkrabea Effah Dartey also had his station closed down and he was later arraigned before court. I had to defend him before the circuit court. So as politicians, we must be fair and sincere with ourselves.”
Under President Akufo-Addo’s administration, two pro-opposition radio stations, Radio XYZ belonging to Julius Debrah and Radio Gold were closed down by the NCA in May 2019 for breaching the National Communications Authority regulations.
The NCA’s 2017 audit named Radio XYZ and Radio Gold among the many FM stations that were operating against its regulations.
It fined Radio XYZ GH¢4,090,000 in September 2017 for operating with a license that expired on 8th May 2016.
In the report, Radio Gold was fined GH¢61,330,000 for operating with a license that expired on 6th September 2000.