Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has declared a non-cooperation war against the police administration, as former Defence Minister Iddrisu Mahama has announced that their members will no longer honour invitations by the law enforcement agency.
He announced the party’s decision during the latest in the series of press conferences held at the headquarters of the party in Accra last Thursday.
This open defiance mode is the most critical accusation by the NDC, and it is being levelled against the constitutionally established internal security and law enforcement agency of the state.
It can therefore be interpreted as being against the state since the law enforcement agency is a segment of the state.
The position of the NDC stems from the invitation by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to its National Chairman Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo to come and assist in an ongoing investigation into rampant kidnappings and fire outbreaks that have hit the country in recent times which he turned down.
It’s a rehearsed disclosure which points at an opposition party daring the government in the most unusual fashion yet, and falls short of a non-recognition of the government in its mode.
“All ministers and appointees will no longer answer questions before the numerous inquisition panels and bodies established to harass and persecute them…Neither will they respond to the numerous intrusive and oppressive questionnaire administered to them,” he said.
The defiance is extendable to other bodies engaged in probing instances of alleged corruption and could include the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), among others.
The fallouts of the announcement on the ongoing probe into allegations of causing financial loss to the state and other instances of improprieties by former government appointees under the previous Mahama administration can only be imagined.
The most potent response of the law enforcement agency and others under the circumstances is resorting to the court for warrants of arrest or subpoenas to compel persons wanted to assist in investigations to do so.
“If the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) wishes to arrest our National Chairman, they can proceed to do so. We call on all our members to show solidarity with our National Chairman…He has no assistance to render the CID as far as this matter is concerned,” the party stated.
Observers consider the open defiance to state authority as part of a grand scheme to create a state of instability by inciting NDC supporters to go in their numbers to any office which invites their members to assist in investigations.
In a correspondence to the CID Director General, the originator of the invitation to Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo to come to their office on Thursday 2pm, party lawyers said they had advised him not to honour the call.
Alhaji Iddrisu accused the CID boss of allowing herself to be used by government to harass NDC members, adding that all that being said about Ofosu-Ampofo are malicious lies.
“We have been compelled to toe this tangent because enough is enough of the intimidation, the NDC will not be muffled or unnerved by the CID Director General,” he declared.
Useless Charge
Before the NDC press conference on Thursday, former President John Mahama, the 2020 flagbearer of the NDC, had described the process initiated by the police to get Ofosu-Ampofo as ‘useless’.
He said on his Accra tour on Wednesday that “Let them (NPP) remember that in whatever they do, they are setting precedent. You cannot take any frivolous and vexatious investigation and be inviting the chairman of the biggest opposition party every day to the CID headquarters on very useless allegations.”
He said the Akufo-Addo administration is not delivering and had rather resorted to harassment of NDC officials, saying that won’t save the NPP from defeat in 2020.
“We are advising the NPP – if you deliver on your promises, the people of Ghana will look favourably at you but if you have failed don’t out of your desperation decide to harass our party officials. Whatever you do, you cannot escape the judgment of the people.”
By A.R. Gomda