Don't Take NDC Money - Sheikh Sibidow

Sheikh S.M. Sibidow, veteran journalist and one of the well-known voices from Dagbon has asked the Andani family to reject a donation offered by the National Democratic Congress, NDC. In a statement, a copy of which was delivered to The Accra Daily Mail last week, he said, "In spite of what Andani Family is going through I urge the real family members to reject the donation of ?5 million from the NDC. That money is stained with the blood of Na Yakubu and other martyrs."

He said as far as he was concerned, "the donation is no more than blood money." The rather strongly worded statement makes the claim that "it was NDC/PNDC operatives who by their various actions since 1979 fatally wounded and reduced Na Yakubu into a paralysed lame duck to be finished off by heartless uncompromising characters."

In very definitive terms, Sheikh Sibidow says in his statement, "I can assure Ghanaians that the last thing Na Yakubu would accept or approve was a donation from NDC of Huudu/Ibrahim Adam/JJ".

Perhaps with the attempt by some people to politicize the crisis in mind, Sibidow says in his statement, "Yes NDC won more of Dagbon seats, but Dagbon is not the World Bank and backyard of NDC influence like Volta Region and Upper West. Some of us know why they won: through cash and misguided posture of the pretenders who now claim leadership of Andani".

In a related development, he has suspended publication of the "Northern Monitor" and the "National Monitor". In a letter to the National Media Commission, he announced that the "publication of "The Northern Monitor" and "The National Monitor" has been suspended forthwith, in the interest of national security."

Rather controversially, in the same letter, he says, "as matters stand now, the whole country will in due course discover that only a Super Miracle can exonerate those being openly accused and that apart from Dr. Andani all those characters claiming to be spokesmen for the two families and accusing others are themselves mere pretenders who cannot escape blame. For, at worse they are accomplices for their inactions, misguided actions and inflexible, obstinate positions that ruled out any compromise and portrayed the publisher [Sibidow] as a nuisance, controversial person, devil incarnate, etc to the whole country, particularly all governments because he kept warning of catastrophe in Dagbon and calling for compromise which was rejected by the very people who are now opportunistically addressing press conferences pointing accusing fingers as if they are innocent."

Editor's Note.

In line with the state of emergency restrictions on the media, substantial portions of Sheikh S.M. Sibidow's statement and letter have been left out.