NDC ‘running into opposition like Usain Bolt’ – Sammy Awuku

Member of Parliament for Akuapem North, Sammy Awuku, has accused the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) of creating conditions that could push the party back into opposition, saying its handling of recent developments is already showing signs of an administration losing support.

Speaking to JoyNews on the sidelines of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Delegates Conference in Kumasi, Mr Awuku said the NDC was, in his words, “running into opposition like Usain Bolt”.

“When a party is losing an election, the very signs that you see are walking into it like Usain Bolt,” he said.

“The NDC is running into opposition like Usain Bolt.”

Mr Awuku cited the demolition of structures at Labadi as one of the issues he believes could be damaging the government’s standing among its supporters.

“Go to the streets of Labadi, they’ve cleared everything there,” he said.

He referred to videos published by JoyNews and said some of the affected people had been identified as supporters of President John Dramani Mahama.

“Multimedia Joy FM, I’ve seen some of your videos,” he said.

“Some of the people who were cleared were wearing Mahama’s apron. And some of them were openly smoking and telling you you’ve taken the food off their table.”

Mr Awuku said the situation was particularly significant because the affected community falls within an NDC-held constituency.

“The Member of Parliament for the area is not our MP. She’s an NDC MP. But she can see her seat slipping away,” he said.

“And that’s why I told you the NDC is running like Usain Bolt into opposition.”

Mr Awuku said he was particularly concerned about the effect of the government's actions on grassroots NDC supporters who, he said, had worked to bring the party to power.

“I am sad for the foot soldiers of the party,” he said.

“They worked tirelessly for their party to form government.”

He claimed that some supporters now felt abandoned by the government and were openly expressing dissatisfaction.

“The government has turned its back against them, and that is why many of them are swearing in the open that they won’t vote for their party again,” he said.

Mr Awuku also cited what he described as arbitrary arrests and the persecution of opposition activists as further concerns.

He warned that such actions could establish a precedent that could eventually affect the NDC itself and younger generations of its supporters.

“And as I am advising them, and coupled with the arbitrary arrest, the persecution of opposition activists, their party and government has set up a very dangerous precedent that someday will chew up the future and the younger generation of the NDC,” he said.

Mr Awuku further accused the NDC government of behaving as though it had already accepted that it would lose power.

“The danger of what we are facing is that this government thinks that they’re on their way out,” he said.

“So they’ve checked out already.”

**Mr Awuku was also asked about the arrest of lawyer Baffour Awuah by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), a matter that has generated considerable public debate.

He said Mr Awuah had been presented before a specialised court and questioned the circumstances under which the court was convened.

“As we speak, they have presented him to a court, to the specialised court,” he said.

Mr Awuku compared the situation to the earlier Salomey matter, in which he said authorities had cited the unavailability of a judge as a reason for the court not sitting.

“I’m surprised. If you remember the case of the Salome matter, they said that the judge wasn’t available,” he said.

“Today this government has been able to get a weekend court to sit on.”

Mr Awuku also warned that the conduct of political actors in government could eventually create a cycle of retaliation when power changes hands.

He said that if the NPP returned to government, supporters could pressure its leadership to treat the NDC in the same manner.

“When NPP forms government again, and then you have supporters of the party putting pressure on the President and asking him to visit the same venom,” he said.

“And that is what we don’t want.”

He welcomed what he described as growing criticism from different sections of society, including the media, civil society and religious leaders.

“And I am happy that decent voices, media houses, civil society organisations, the clergy, and the religious leaders are beginning to speak out,” he said.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.