Mahama has no message, only ethnocentrism – NPP
The governing New Patriotic Party has condemned the opposition National Democratic Congress for ‘trying to use the voter registration exercise to whip up ethnocentrism.’
In a strongly worded statement, the NPP National Chairman, Freddie Blay, said the NDC had adopted an “irresponsible”, “dangerous” and “shameful strategy.”
The Volta region which borders Togo has been in the spotlight as the Electoral Commission registered eligible voters afresh ahead of the 2020 general elections.
With Ewe the dominant language in both the Volta region, which is an NDC stronghold, and Aflao, the NDC has claimed the government wants to disenfranchise Ewes under the pretext of preventing foreigners from registering.
The party has claimed the government dispatched security forces to the border towns to carry out its anti-Ewe agenda.
The government has rejected the claims, explaining the security forces had been deployed to ensure the borders remain closed as part of measures to control the spread of coronavirus.
Freddie Blay also condemned NDC General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, for ‘whipping up ethnic sentiments against the military and inciting the residents with misleading claims that the soldiers were there to act against their tribe.’
The statement referred to comments made by John Mahama who said the government had declared ‘war’ for deploying troops to the borders “in times of peace for the sole purpose of preventing them from registration.”
The NPP suggested it was not surprised by this ‘strategy’ of the NDC because it is “consistent with the NDC playbook: when you have no credible message.”
“In 2016, his campaign message was “E dey be k3k3!”…. How did he expect to win simply by twisting his mouth and shouting E dey Be K3k3?.”
“…the NDC is presenting John Mahama again, and yet again he has no message. He has absolutely nothing to offer.”
Freddie Blay, in a challenge to the NDC, listed the Akufo-Addo government’s achievements in the Volta region.
“…the President was in the Northern and Savannah Regions to ensure that 1.2 million people there have access to water, including John Mahama’s own maternal hometown? John Mahama has no message because Akufo-Addo is working hard to solve the real-life problems that confront the Ghanaian people.
“Does John Mahama know how many families in the Volta Region are benefiting from Free SHS and other social policies that are impacting on families and communities in every corner of this country since 2017? More than 400,000 young people who had qualified to attend SHS would have been denied access if it was not for President Akufo-Addo’s dogged insistence that no child, no matter their ethnic origin or station in life, should be denied secondary education.”