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But Hackman Owusu-Agyeman Deserts Him , As Nyaho-Tamakloe, Arthur Kennedy Mounts Pressure
Failure to act, especially when one owes a duty of care, it is punishable by law, and the flagbearer of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo, is at least in the eyes of Doctors, Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe and Kwabena Arthur Kennedy, seen as having endorsed the dirty ethnocentric comments by their fellow party stalwart, Yaw Osafo-Maafo.
For well over a week, the NPP leader; Nana Addo, has refrained from publicly condemning Mr. Osafo-Maafo’s comment to the effect that, although close to 90 per cent of Ghana’s resources are concentrated in Akan-dominated areas, it is non-Akans who come from areas without resources that are ruling the country.
The two medical doctors, have openly condemned the explosive tribal comment captured on a secret recording from the Eastern Regional NPP Council of Elders meeting held in Koforidua, said to have been chaired by ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs and one-time Interior Minister, Hackman Owusu-Agyyeman.
Meanwhile, the First Vice Chairman in the Eastern Region, Alhaji Bodinga, who has disclosed attending the meeting, yesterday told an Accra-based Top FM, that Mr. Osafo-Maafo, authored the words captured on the tape, but said them within a context.
He told host of Top FM’s socio-political programme “Yen Nsempa” Ekourba Gyasi that the said meeting where Mr. Osafo-Maafo spoke, lasted for over three hours, hence one will appreciate the context in which the ex-Finance Minister spoke after listening to the full tape recording.
Alhaji Bodinga, insisted that he had listened to the tape severally and carefully, and very certain that the voice is that of the ex-NPP Member of Parliament (MP) for Akim Oda, however, various portions of what he said on the day, had been pieced together by the NDC, therefore, taking him out of context.
He demanded that the full tape made on January 27, 20015 is played to kill the mischief and cheap political points that the NDC is seeking to score against his party. He told the ruling NDC to rather focus on fixing the problems of this country, instead of resorting to inferior tactics to keep hold on power.
It is unclear, why the chairman of the occasion, Hackman Owusu-Agyyeman, and ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs and onetime Interior Minister, is not speaking to the issue, involving his onetime parliamentary colleague. They believe a word from him could effectively settle the matter.
An NPP founding father and ex-Captain of the Ghana Armed Forces, Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, has challenged his party’s Flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo, to distance himself from, and condemn, in no uncertain terms, Mr. Osafo-Marfo’s tribal comments.
“Nana Addo, to save this party of ours, must come down: either he distances himself from the statement of Yaw [Osafo-Maafo] or apologises to the people of this country…I personally think he is trying to take us for a ride,” Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe told Ibrahim Alhassan in an interview Monday.
He fears the comment could frustrate the party’s electoral chances in the 2016 national polls, just as similar comments in the lead up to the 2012 elections hurt the NPP’s chances. “In [the] 2012 elections, we nearly won power, but for some of these statements. We would have won power, [but] similar statements were made by certain people just before the elections and that cost us a lot,” he observed.
The former finance Minister’s Office, issued a statement on Monday, saying his voice was doctored on the secret tape.
On the tape, the former flagbearer aspirant, was heard expressing disgust on why Akans, who make up five of the country’s ten regions and possess all the natural resources, hardly govern the country, but it is rather those who have nothing to offer in terms of natural resources, who are always at the helm of affairs.
It said, “86.5 percent of resources in Ghana come from five regions: Brong Ahafo, Ashanti, Eastern, Western and Central. This is where 86 percent of the resources of Ghana come from… And the oil was also discovered in the West. It will change the formula to about 90 percent. We cannot ignore these five regions. We should not.
“You have all the resources, but you have no say in the management of your resources and that is what is happening. Your development depends on the one who has no resources.
“You can’t say this openly,” he cautioned the Council Members, but added that they are free to talk about it among Asantes.
“We should protect ourselves, we should protect our income. No one who is the source of income, the source of revenue, the source of resources allows another person without those resources the chance [to rule over them].
“It’s never done anywhere in the world. In the world over, it is the group with the most resources that rules and not the other way around,” the voice said.
In the denial statement signed by his Special Assistant, Emmanuel Bediako Mamfe, the former Flagbearer-Aspirant’s Office said: “Some of his remarks have been distorted as advocating tribal or ethnic sentiments, trying to create the impression that he is a tribalist. In all his public life, he has striven to do what is right for Ghana and not for any sectional interest.
“We therefore wish to state the following:
(i). The alleged tape purported to be his voice has been doctored, mischievously re-arranged and pieced together, using modern technology, to create a false impression.
(ii). This meeting took place on 29th January, but this concoction has been mischievously released to coincide with and try to overshadow the recent successful “Won Gbo” demonstration of 18th February.
(iii). The release of this doctored tape is a desperate attempt to divert the attention of Ghanaians from REAL problems facing Ghana – widespread corruption, rising levels of unemployment, economic hardships and mismanagement of the economy.”
Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe, however, insists that Mr. Osafo-Maafo is running away from his own voice. “…I have listened to it several times. I know Yaw [Osafo-Maafo]. I know the voice of Yaw. The tape itself is not disjointed anywhere, so if Yaw claims the tape has been doctored, he should let the people of this country have the original tape for all of us to [listen].
In his vice, the statement from the Engineer’s Office berates the intelligence of Ghanaians. “Somebody who was once declared as the best finance Minister in Africa, I’m greatly disappointed. I think Yaw must credit the people of this country with some intelligence. He forgets himself that day-in and day-out, people are growing. And as a leader, if he is faced with such a challenge and finds the easy way out, I don’t think that is good for this country…definitely he must be sanctioned one way or the other…I don’t know what they takes the people of this country for, to come out with such a statement and he thinks he’ll be believed by anyone?” he wondered.
According to Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe, the leadership of the NPP, must not let Mr Osafo-Maafo off the hook. [Dr Charles] Wereko-Brobbey, had a problem with the party on a very minor scale, he was sanctioned and suspended.
I mean what is good for the goose is good for the gander. I’m really disappointed in Yaw. Yaw himself should have been bold enough to come out and say I made such a statement, I‘m sorry to the people of this country and people will give him tremendous respect, but what he has done, he’s finished as far as politics in this country is concerned.”
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