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Politics of Monday, 29 June 2020

Source: peacefmonline.com

Why is Akufo-Addo silent on K.T Hammond's 'ethnocentric comments'? - Nana Ofori Owusu quizzes

President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo

PPP Director of Operations, Nana Ofori Owusu has made a strident call on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to condemn the alleged ethnocentric comments by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Adansi Asokwa, K.T. Hammond.

Nana Ofori Owusu vehemently bemoaned the comments stressing it is divisive and unfair for the NPP bigwig to brand residents of Volta Region as ''non Ghanaians''.

K.T Hammond's controversial statements

Military Officers have been deployed to parts of the Volta Region prior to the new voters' registration exercise which will begin on Tuesday, June 30, 2020.

Following the deployment of the Military, the people of Volta Region have raised concerns over why security forces should be concentrated in the Region.

Explaining the intent behind the Military deployment to a section of the media, Lawyer K.T Hammond said due to the close relationship between Voltarians living along the Ghana-Togo border and citizens of Togo, it is easier for people who are not citizens of Ghana to infiltrate the registration exercise, hence defeating the purpose for a new voters' register.

“The military is at the Aflao border to make sure you vote if you are a Ghanaian and if you have the constitutional right to vote. That’s all there is. They are not electoral officers, but they are peacekeeping forces. They are keeping the peace. They [Togolese] walk into the [Volta Region] and come out normally but they are not Ghanaians. When they walk in there, they can do whatever they do so I guess that is the reason for that," he stated.

Dissociate yourself, President Nana Akufo-Addo

Nana Ofori Owusu, speaking to host Nana Yaw Kesse on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo', wondered why President Akufo-Addo is silent on the K.T Hammond's comments.

According to him, the President and the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) must dissociate themselves from the statements by Hon. K.T Hammond.

He called on the President to rebuke the Parliamentarian in no uncertain terms because "the policies of Ghana is not about the people. It's about territorial integrity. So, if you say we're protecting our borders, then you go and you isolate a people; that is wrong. He must be condemned. I am looking at the President of the Republic of Ghana to condemn the statements of Hon. K.T Hammond because he represents his party and when somebody speaks like this, people might begin to think he is speaking for the government".

"Are you saying that you need a deliberate policy that will target the people? It's not fair. As a Parliamentarian, I thought he would rather talk about policy of protecting the borders of Ghana and the integrity of Ghana's processes, and show the fairness in terms of process we have adopted to protect the integrity of Ghana," the Progressive People's Party (PPP) activist added.