General News of Wednesday, 5 September 2012

Source: Fiifi Danso

Akufo-Addo sets conditions for Mahama before meeting

The flag bearer of the NPP Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has thrown a challenge to the President to openly come out to condemn brutalities against members of the NPP since the NDC assumed office in 2009.

His comments come a day after the President extended an olive branch to other political parties to sit at the table to discuss issues of national concern.

Nana Addo said he has no problem joining the President in discussing such matters but the President should show firm commitment in addressing the issues raised by the opposition.

Nana Addo spoke to Radio Ghana on the sidelines of his Restoration of Hope tour in the Tema West Constituency.

“There are concrete matters that we have to address...e.g. we have yet to hear any APOLOGY or sense of regret about events that took place at Agbogbloshie, Akwatia, Atiwa since they took office in 2009...and in tamale NPP activists were brutalized and the police has done nothing about it...Those are the kind of bridge building processes that we want to see.”

He said the NPP would like to see the president come out to say he will not tolerate those kind of incidence again saying “we (NPP) are hundred percent on board the idea of peace”.

“If those are the matters that the president is calling us to talk about and give us assurances that in this brief period that he rules he would make sure that events like that don’t occur again I will welcome such a meeting but if it is just a photo opportunity for us to sit around the table to be seen to be friends when there is no substance on the table I for us to discuss I wouldn’t see the necessity for it.” The New Patriotic Party Flag bearer stressed.