Dan Abodakpui speaking at the press conference.
The NDC in the Volta region is leaving no stone unturned as it steps up its strategy to whip up tribal sentiments to maintain control over the Volta Region, its strong hold.
In the latest of the series of strategies and well coordinated narrative, the party has reiterated its displeasure of allegations of intimidation in the ongoing voter registration in the region, especially along the border communities.
They also accused the government of deliberately targeting and treating the people of the Volta Region as “second class citizens”.
These and many more constituted the wild allegations made in a statement read at a recent press conference in Ho, the Volta Regional Capital.
The statement was issued by a joint committee of the party’s council of elders and political committee in the Volta Region.
Addressing the press, Dan Abodakpi, Chairman of the Council of Elders and a stalwart of the party repeated the party’s claim that the deployment of security personnel along the Ghana-Togo border was part of a scheme to treat people of the Volta Region as non Ghanaians.
He said. “The besieging of Honuta by the Military, breaking and barging into people’s homes in search of so-called Togolese. The demolition of Ayigbe town in the Tema East Constituency, the demolition of Ewe settlements in Bui, Bongaase in the Banda enclave in the Bono region and prevention of Ewes in Upper Denkyira West from participating in the ongoing registration exercise,” are all intended against Voltarians.
Mr. Abodakpui who has been an active member of the NDC from inception in 1992 and the High Commissioner to Malaysia in the erstwhile NDC government could not find enough achievements of the party in the region except allegations and tribal sentiments against the governing NPP.
Despite the many nationalistic projects by the NPP government like Free SHS, Planting for Food and Jobs, National Health Insurance, One District One Factory, Free water and subsidised electricity which serve all Ghanaians irrespective of tribe or background, the NDC still maintained the President was being selective.
The statement alleged that the current forms of aggression against Voltarians had undone late President John Evans Atta Mills’ ‘Father for All’ mantra.
Mr. Abodakpui and the NDC refused the explanations by government and security experts that the deployment of security services along the country’s borders was to deal with further importation of COVID-19 and other security threats picked up by intelligence.
For them, they believe the deployment was to intimidate Voltarians and that was it.
To this end, he cautioned the security against acts of aggression saying, “We wish to send a very strong and clear signal to His Excellency the President, the Security Services and anybody who, at any time henceforth, will engage in any act of aggression in whichever form; especially by attempting to prevent any indigene of the Volta Region in any part of the country from participating in the ongoing registration exercise that, they will have only themselves to blame in any such event.”
Also in attendance was former Speaker of Parliament, Edward Doe Adjaho, NDC National Vice Chairman, Kofi Attor, Prosper Bani, among others.
All these stalwarts are people who despite having huge influence in the erstwhile NDC government could not ensure the Volta region got it fair share of the national cake.
For some residents, these stalwarts are all complicit in leaving the Eastern Corridor road, Ho-Aflao road, Ho dual carriage road among others unattended to until the current NPP government took over and started work on them.
The governing NPP in the region has also dared the NDC to focus on their achievements instead of courting the sympathies through tribal political gimmicks.
For them, the NDC is unable to do so, because they (NDC) have no moral right in that regard.
From Fred Duodu, Ho (k.duodu@yahoo.com)