Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo
A leaked audio recording of a secret meeting of opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has revealed the chilling strategies they intend using for the 2020 elections – one of them being the kidnappings of family members of opponents.
It was during a post Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency by-election engagement at the NDC headquarters that the party’s Chairman, Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, let out the party’s wicked plans for 2020.
The setting of the explosive leaked tape which has gone viral appears to be a debriefing session of Ofosu-Ampofo and lieutenants of communicators.
In attendance were people like Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu and Alfred Ogbamey, who was presented as a communications strategist or so.
Kidnappings
On the kidnappings, the NDC Chairman openly recalled how some of the men who worked against the NDC in the by-election had not slept in their houses at Nima and Mamobi since NDC ‘security operatives’ were set on their trail.
These persons were marked for abduction but what the party intends to do with them is unknown when they are captured.
Should they not be stopped in their trails, the chairman said their fathers and mothers would be kidnapped and this would compel them to come out from their hideouts.
Some Imams, he indicated, had come to intercede on behalf of those the party had placed on the ‘wanted list.’
“People will start capturing your fathers and mothers and keeping them hostage until you bring them out,” he said gleefully.
He said, “None of them has slept in their houses. Those who live at Nima and Mamobi, none of them slept in the house. I hear one of them is dead – whether heart attack or not. Our people have identified a number of them; we will go after them.”
“You see, we have a tactical advantage. We will go after them. But we will not go after them face-to-face. We have to use tactical operation to make life very uncomfortable for them.
“We will target some people and we will let the people know that their lives are in danger. Once their lives are in danger, they themselves will be careful. As for that one, I want to assure that we will go all out to ensure… as President Mahama said when it comes to this game, we are better than them,” he declared amid spontaneous applauds from the gathering.
Coming at a time when the conundrum of the kidnappings of three Takoradi girls is yet to be addressed, the revelation from the NDC Chairman could add to the headache of the law enforcement system.
Typical of all political strategies, especially those steeped in mischief and overt and covert operations, the revelations are segmented – covering from what to do to the clergy to how to persistently be on the neck of the Electoral Chairperson, Jean Mensa, and other so-called opponents until they feel very uncomfortable.
Azorka Boys
The NDC Chairman admitted to the ‘importation’ of the party’s vigilante group, ‘Azorka Boys’ for an operation at the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency by-election during the meeting.
He referred to how the Azorka Boys identified their Kandahar counterparts, whom he said belonged to the NPP, also from Tamale at Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency.
“It is a mind game,” he said about the decision to withdraw from the election, adding that “it was not a cowardice decision at all.”
Sofo Azorko, NDC Vice Chairman, he pointed out, thanked him for withdrawing NDC from the by-election.
“Because how would he have returned his boys to Tamale having come under intense attack.”
The Azorka Boys, upon seeing the Kandahar Boys, he narrated, fled to their waiting pickups but the place was cordoned off rendering them trapped.
“The development was not anticipated,” he added.
He said he agreed with the expert advice from one of their security officers not to push their men into action unarmed.
Overt Operations
Those who are not in the good books of the NDC and constitute stumbling blocks to their electoral success must sit up, as the party plans to make life very uncomfortable for them through ‘overt’ and ‘covert’ operations.
Mahama’s Word
Former President Mahama’s word that when it comes to violence and covert political activities the NPP does not come near its NDC counterpart appears to be serving as a template for his party because the party chairman, who is also a church elder, referred to it happily.
Jean Mensa
The NDC Chairman’s sinister plans about the EC Chairperson, Jean Mensa, were clearly couched in his remarks after he had narrated what happened when an NDC team visited her at the EC’s headquarters.
“When we went to her, she said this ‘one is you oo, the usual NDC and NPP thugs.’ I told her madam, do you know what you are talking about? So I think that we should take her to the cleaners.”
This was followed by a response of sharp! sharp!sharp!sharp! from the NDC Communicators in approval of what he wants them to do to the EC Boss.
“We must wage a relentless war against the EC Chair. She does not want to see me. Look at the statement she issued.”
Clergy Attacks
The clergy would not be left out of the NDC election 2020 strategy as the chairman told his guests.
The Chairman of the Peace Council, Rev Prof Emmanuel Asante, would also suffer from insults as part of the strategy.
Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo said gleefully, “For the first time, I would endorse the insulting of religious organizations, especially the Chairman of the Peace Council to an approving applause from his party audience with one voice responding ‘we have already started!’”
Police Support
The NDC Chairman spoke about how several senior police officers called to congratulate them ostensibly over the party’s handling of the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency by-election.
“I have received several calls from senior police officers who have saluted us for the action we took. Many of them are not happy. They are trained persons and their reputation is at stake. How can you put uniform on people and put them in the street. This would bring the police back to us. In 2016, the police were against us,” he said.
Baptismal Of Fire
The NDC Chairman expressed gratitude to his audience and told them, “If you were in my shoes, you would appreciate what I went through.”
He then recalled how he had to take a decision on what to do in view of the developments at Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency by-election.
Security Coordination
He said a communication strategy to present President Akufo-Addo as violent should be considered.
“We need to work on him so that when the NDC decides to organize gradually we would shift the tag of violence to the NPP. So this is the briefing I have for you.”
NDC Security Unit
The party, he revealed, would set up a national security coordination using their men and to create district and constituency security coordinators for intelligence gathering.
The NDC intends to use national security operatives, both serving and retired, including retired soldiers for their overt and covert operations, he disclosed.
Confusion Over Audio
The leaked audio has unsettled the party’s leadership as a search is mounted to determine the source of the leakage.
In spite of this development, some have preferred to go on the denial tangent, describing the recording as being ‘doctored.’
Sammy Gyamfi, the Communications Officer, is being accused of leaking the recording.
Most of the NDC top persons avoided the issue when they were called by the various radio stations yesterday in the morning.
Until they begin responding to the calls, the search continues for the moles.
The substance of the revelation, however, supersedes the mole because it is about national security and health of Ghana’s democracy.
By A.R. Gomda?