Ghana's laws are enough to deal with political vigilance – NDC

General News of Friday, February 22, 2019

Source: citinewsroom.com

2019-02-22

The leadership of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called the two-party president's call to discuss ways of disbanding political vigilante groups as "flowery verbiage."

According to NDC Secretary General Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, although the party welcomes the president's decision to bring the two sides together in the face of the threat, he believes that political vigilance can only be resolved if there is real political will supported by government actions.

The party was also of the opinion that there were already laws in the country capable of fighting political hooliganism.

"Even if we welcome the call of the president inviting us to meet the NPP to discuss this issue, we do not think that the phenomenon of political militia, or even better militia, will be solved by taking an interest in flowery verbiage. . We firmly believe that the laws in force in our country can effectively combat political hooliganism. What is needed is real political will supported by corresponding actions. President Akufo-Addo must therefore put an end to empty rhetoric and act now. "

NDC leaders have also maintained their willingness to cooperate with the president's directives if the government dismantles what they describe as an allegedly illegal armed force in the National Security Council chaired by the president.

The NDC is also calling on the president and his government to dismiss those they also describe as thugs and thugs of NPP belonging to various security agencies.

"… that the Akufo-Addo Government take immediate steps to dismantle and disarm the illegal armed force maintained by the National Security Council, which is presided over by not less than the President of the Republic of Ghana. The government must take deliberate measures to purge all the security agencies of these thugs and thugs of the nuclear plant. That the Akufo-Addo government immediately abandons its harmful projects and instead asks all its agents in the regions to put an end to the recruitment of thugs of the political parties sanctioned by the State for the purposes of the general election of 2020. In addition, the government and the NPP publicly denounce and dissolve, not only in words but in deeds, all their self-defense groups and their political militias. "

#SOTNGhana: Nana Addo's speech was disarmed – Rawlings

Former President Jerry John Rawlings described President Nana Akufo-Addo's speech on the state of the nation in 2019 as having appeased all fears and suspicions about security in the country.

According to Rawlings, the country's two main political parties must be alert to the President's call to disband political vigilante groups in the country.

Mr. Rawlings, who was in 2019 during the State of the Nation Speech with his wife, was seen talking to the Speaker and the House of Commons leaders and taking pictures. with this one after the president's speech.

# # SONA2019 of the president @ NAkufoAddo was disarmed. I hope that the NDC @OfficialNDCGh and the NPP @NPP_GH will respond to the call to join forces to fight the scourge of party militias and violent vigilance, "said l & # 39; former president.

President Akufo-Addo, who delivered his speech on the state of the nation in 2019, added his voice to calls by various civil society groups and international agencies for the two main political parties in the country to dissolve their self defense groups.

President Nana Addo said that he had asked the leadership of his party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), to invite the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to discuss how to dissolve their respective self-defense groups.

The president said the phenomenon of political vigilance could destabilize the country and reverse the democratic achievements made by the country over the years.

"I wish to use the platform of this message to make a sincere and pbadionate appeal to the leaders of the two main political parties of our country, NPP and NDC, so that they gather as soon as possible, preferably next week. , in order to agree. appropriate measures to put an end to this disturbing and unacceptable phenomenon of vigilance in our body politic, "he said.

Citing the recent violence that ravaged the district of Ayawaso West Wuogon due to the activities of politically aligned self-defense groups, President Akufo-Addo pledged to use legislation to curb the phenomenon if the two parties do not manage to stop it voluntarily.