Opinions of Saturday, 6 February 2016

Columnist: Kodua, Emmanuel Tweneboa

NYLF not bothered by campaign of filth and smear by Daily Guide

The leadership of the National Youth leaders Forum (NYLF) has noticed an attempt by some rented press to mount a smear campaign to discredit the NYLF and its Executive Director, Michael Kwabena Ampong.

The very unfortunate aspect of the failed smear campaign by the Daily Guide newspaper is that they chose not to help in the national cause and responsibility of protecting the peace and stability of the country before, during and after the upcoming general election of 2016, which the forum is seeking to promote but rather attempted to link our Executive Director to the National Security Secretariat.
We want to place on record that, Mr Michael Ampong has no dealings, whatsoever, with the National Security Secretariat or the National Security Co-ordinator. Similarly, Mr Ampong has no engagement with the National Democratic Congress (NDC). He continues to be a bonafide member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
However, it is only a matter of our basic civic responsibility to promote peace, stability and peaceful co-existence among all manner of Ghanaians, irrespective of their ethnic, religious and political partisanship divergence.
Hence, we want to place on record that, all well-meaning Ghanaians must not allow themselves to be swayed by such discredited and fallacious reportage coming from the Daily Guide newspaper, as well as persons trying to do the bidding of their paymasters. The national interest must always be supreme and above all parochial interests. Hence, we urge all Ghanaians and the international community to treat with contempt the Daily Guide’s story.
The attempted smear campaign, notwithstanding, the National Youth Leaders Forum wishes to assure the Ghanaian people of our resolve to campaign header for a violent-free election and to discourage ethnocentric politics; the politics of insults and hatred; the politics of wild and unfounded allegations against political opponents as well as the politics of intolerance for dissenting views and opinions.
The NYLF will partner with all well-meaning Ghanaians and indeed our regular and legitimate security agencies to safeguard the peace, stability and peaceful co-existence of our dear country.

Thank you all and God bless our homeland Ghana

Emmanuel Tweneboa Kodua
Public Relations Officer, NYLF
024 883 3353
Joseph Oppong
Deputy Executive Director
024 615 9303