President condemns acts of hooliganism by NPP supporters
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in delivering the State of the Nation Address on Tuesday condemned acts of lawlessness perpetrated by some members of the New Patriotic Party during the transition.
It would be recalled that during the transition period some NPP activists and supporters seized toll booths and besieged some State agencies under the pretext that the workers there were employed by the National Democratic Congress government.
Against this backdrop, the NPP activists insisted that since their party had assumed the reins of government, they should vacate their positions in order for them to take over.
However, President Akufo-Addo said wrongdoing had no political colour and, therefore, explicitly condemned such incidents which nearly marred the transition process.
‘‘When those incidents began, I instructed the then Inspector-General of Police, John Kudalor, to apply the law, irrespective of political affiliation.
‘‘This instruction was also carried on to his successor, David Asante Appeatu, both of them acted on it, which helped to bring the situation under control,’’ he noted.
He said such events were predicated on some concept of equalisation, as they happened in 2009, and were repeated again in 2017.
‘‘I condemn all such conduct, and I call on all political parties, especially the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress, to ensure that this is the last time such undignified acts occur during our period of transition,’’ he stressed.
The President commended the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs Charlotte Osei, for supervising a successful election on December 7, and hoped future elections would be more robust so that free and fair election, would be part of the country’s democratic culture.
President Akufo-Addo commended some veteran Members of Parliament including Alban Bagbin, who was one time the Majority and Minority leader in Parliament, Lawrence Osei-Kyei Mensah Bonsu, MP for Suame and the current Majority Leader and the current Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, MP for Tamale South, for instrumental roles they had played in sustaining the country’s parliamentary democracy.
The Address was in fulfilment of Article 67 of the 1992 Constitution which stipulates that the President must give the State of the Nation Address at the beginning of each session of Parliament and before the dissolution of Parliament.
Source: GNA