The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has condemned President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuo-Addo for blaming the lack of development in the Ekumfi area on the failure to re-elect Francis Ato Cudjoe in the 2020 elections.
In an interaction with traditional leaders from Ekumfi at the Jubilee House, the president expressed his dissatisfaction with the decision made by the people of Ekumfi to vote out Francis Ato Cudjoe from the Parliament of Ghana.
He lamented that, despite making “him [Ato Cudjoe] a deputy minister”, the constituents still voted him out, giving power to Abeiku Crentsil, a candidate of the National Democratic Congress(NDC).
“Ato Cudjoe was your MP, and I made him a deputy minister, and you voted him out in the last elections, and because of that, I did not pay attention to development in your area. I have to be honest with you, but since you have brought it up, I will pay attention to it,” the president said.
Reacting to these comments, Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, Mustapha Grande, emphasised the inappropriateness of President Akufo-Addo’s approach in addressing the family of a late former president.
According to Mr Gbande, the president must apologise to Ghanaians for his comment.
“It seems that if the president was speaking to somebody like me, it would have been acceptable, but the president, being the president of the Republic of Ghana, was speaking to the family, direct family members of a late former president [John Evans Atta Mills]. So, to have made such comments, for us, is unpresidential.
“It just reflects the nature of the president we have, who is so vindictive and believes that he prioritises politics over development. That is why his government is failing.
“If the president understands that one day he will be in the position President Mills’s family is now, and his family will be speaking to another president on his behalf, I believe that he should apologise to the people of this country for making such a comment,” Mr Gbande said.