NDC has nothing to do with threats - John Mahama

Accra, Dec. 18, GNA - The National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Thursday spiked rumours linking the party to alleged threats to the lives of certain prominent personalities and pledged that an NDC Government would guarantee security for all citizens.

"Let me state categorically that the NDC has nothing to do with these threats and we believe that there is a sinister hand in all this to try to stampede the electorate into making a choice in favour of a particular candidate," Mr John Dramani Mahama, Vice Presidential Candidate of the party, told a press conference in Accra. He denied allegations that the NDC had placed Pastor Mensa Otabil of the International Central Gospel Church and other senior religious leaders of the Muslim, Christian and Pentecostal Councils on an alleged hit list.

The NDC, he said, rather had utmost respect for the religious personalities and regarded them as the conscience of the nation and wished them no harm.

"Let me state that under a government led by Professor (John Evans Atta) Mills and I, no Ghanaian, however, highly or lowly placed in society, shall entertain any fear of harm to themselves for any beliefs that they hold," Mr Mahama said.

The NDC called on the Ghana Police Service to commission a thorough investigation into the alleged hit list, which Mr Mahama called"sleazy fear-mongering calculated to win cheap political favour". "As a communication person, I know that with the right ICT expertise, it is possible to track the origin of the e-mail that has been the source of all these allegations.

"We are prepared to assist and cooperate with the Police in this regard. We of the NDC dissociate ourselves from any such persons and are quite confident that none of our members would carry on such actions." Mr Mahama said he and Professor Mills, the NDC presidential candidate, had waged "a clean, dignified, issues-based campaign over the last few months, and these attacks on the party, which Prof. Mills currently leads, are spiteful and incendiary".

He said the NDC would continue to maintain its calm despite the many gratuitous provocative and insulting statements thrown at it. Mr Mahama said the NDC knew that the only way to heal the nation and to bring it together as one people irrespective of ethnicity, religion, gender or political affiliation was to lead by example and to ensure that there was decency and decorum in the way campaigns were conducted. He gave the electorate the assurance that Prof Mills and himself believed in moderation, decency, honesty and integrity in the politics and governance of the nation.

"I wish to state that we do not have time or the energy to waste in political witch-hunting as had been the specialization of our opponents over the last eight years."

Mr Mahama rejected the claim in certain quarters that Former President Jerry Rawlings would hide behind Prof Mills to rule the nation saying it was constitutionally impossible for that to happen. He also addressed claims that a vote for the NDC on December 28 would lead to the scrapping of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and said there was no truth in them.

Mr Mahama said the NDC stood by its Manifesto and pledged that it would improve the NHIS in terms of national coverage, one life payment of premium since 85 per cent of the current cost is covered by contributions through the NHIL and SSNIT deductions, provision of better equipment and other infrastructure and better conditions of service for all health care personnel.

Mr Mahama said: "To those who have taken it upon themselves to concoct and propagate these vicious rumours against our party, and to those who would aid and facilitate the spread of such rumours, we wish to remind them that the Bible enjoins us, as Christians, not to bear false witness against our neighbours, and we are sure that like all of us, they will one day have to account for their deeds to a higher authority."