After invasion of Asempa Fm by Nana Addo’s All-Die-Be-Die Militants

…As NDC boycott of Multimedia, Cites Bias

The management of the multimedia is reeling under a tidal wave of pressure from the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) over what the party considers as bias against it by almost all the affiliates of the Ghana’s version of media conglomerate.

Asempa Fm, Adom Fm, Joy Fm have been singled out as the stations within the group which are deeply involved in deliberate biased reportage or programming against the ruling party and government and in favour of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The Al-Hajj has gathered that the management of the Multimedia is making frenetic efforts to come to the negotiations table with the biggest political party in the country, the NDC and the government to iron out whatever differences might have existed between the two parties and ensure the immediate return of panelists from the government’s communications team. The NDC has always voiced out its reservations over bias from the foregoing radio stations but what triggered the current logjam is the successful ouster of Nana Bobie Ansah from his evening rush hour program, ‘Ekosi Sen’ by strong cabal of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) within the Multimedia group and their backers in the NPP communications team.

The forceful eviction of Nana Bobie Ansah from his widely listen to program, according to The Al-Hajj sources within the Multimedia and the NPP headquarters was the outcome of many months of stratagem and collusion between the communications wing of the opposition NPP and the NPP cabal within the Multimedia.

This culminated in the feigned boycott of the station by the NPP for almost four months to twist the arms of the management of the Multimedia to remove the host of the program, Nana Ansah and pave the way for an NPP stooges in the station to push the agenda of their paymasters in the opposition party. Nana Ansah was widely seen as a very talented broadcaster who through many years of hard work has single handedly shepherded the program and catapulted it into its recent stardom.

Seen as very neutral and objective presenter with strong appeal to the Akan communities across the country and abroad, the NPP, especially the militant wing of the party led by Nana Addo has never been comfortable with the professionalism of the young presenter and have been angling to oust him in order to get someone who will swallow their instructions hook line and sinker in the run up to the December elections.

The NPP after a deceptive cessation of hostilities with the enterprising Nana Ansah announced their come back to the station to take part in the normally heated political debate. But unknown to the presenter, it was a calculated stratagem between the NPP communications team and the NPP cabal within the Multimedia to scuttle the program and forced the exit of the one of the finest local language presenters in the country, Nana Ansah.

Consequently, in their first day back to the program, the NPP representatives went into an uncontrolled verbal slaughter of the sitting President John Evan Atta Mills and made scurrilous allegations against the well-mannered Professor of Law.

Nana Bobie Ansah, in his characteristics of ensuring harmony in his programs demurred to the seeming defamation going on against the President leading to the walk-out of the NPP panelist from the program.

This singular act led to the ambush of the station by over one thousand NPP marauding All-Die-Be-Die militants led by their communications team. It took the intervention of well-armed Police to disperse the NPP militants from the premises of Joy FM.

The NPP militants and their cabal within Multimedia therefore triumphed in their long desire to see the back of the presenter from the station.

Soon after this NPP invasion, instead of the management of Asempa FM lodging complaints with the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) against this assault on media freedom, they rather without any sense of shame asked the presenter to go on forced leave and surrender the program for someone to take over.

As at the time of going to press, there are indications that the management of Asempa FM are preparing to write to the management of Multimedia of their desire to permanently discontinue the services of the presenter. The Al-Hajj has gathered from reliable sources within both the NPP and the Multimedia that with the exit of Nana Ansah, the NPP will remote control the station, which has strong potential in reaching a bigger segment of the Akan listenership in the country and beyond.

Already the program, after Nana Ansah’s exit has begun empanelling largely pro-NPP panelists compelling the NDC to finally quit the show.

The ploy by the management of Asempa was that the CPP, NPP, PNC and NDC should each have a panel member on the show, but interestingly the CPP/PPP, PNC panelists are even more vocal against the NDC government and party than even the NPP itself, thereby destroying the professional balance of the program. The Al-Hajj has learnt that the NDC is also complaining about bias in other stations within the Multimedia, notably Adom FM and Joy FM.

Snippets of information available to The Al-Hajj suggest that, the ruling party has taken exception to the manner in which the Morning Shows on both Joy FM and Adom FM and the Newsfile are presented and empanelled. The programs always feature more anti-NDC panelists against only one panel member from the ruling party. The presenter of the Adom FM Morning Show, Mr. Adakabre Frimpong Manso has never hidden his bias in favour of the NPP and has openly declared himself sometime in the past as a media consultant to the failed NPP presidential aspirant, Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanteng.