NDC’s petition to Commonwealth Secretariat very hypocritical, misleading – Dame

The Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame has described a petition sent to the Commonwealth Secretariat by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as very hypocritical and misleading.

Mr Dame told journalists in Accra on Tuesday March 1, that all the government has sought to do is that the NDC and its officers are brought to book, not to persecute them as they are claiming.

“I find it to be very hypocritical and misleading. All the government has sought to do is that the NDC and its officers are brought to book. I will not be deterred at all in my quest to ensure that there is accountability for the people of Ghana. The cases that we have investigated and the actions we have filed in court are on account of solid evidence that we have unearthed through painstaking investigation,” he said.

He added “I can cite the incident of Alfred Woyome… All this recourse to the tribunal is an attempt to get the NDC to run away from justice [because] their claims are unjustified. I do not think we must pay too much attention to it,” Godfred Dame said.

“It is a clear attempt to undermine the administration of justice in the court and an attempt to interfere with the sound administration of justice. As far as I know, no foreign entity can influence or interfere with the courts of justice in the country. As far as I am concerned, all this attempt by the NDC is an attempt to infringe on the sovereignty of Ghana,” eh said.

The NDC has petitioned the Commonwealth Secretariat in the United Kingdom (UK) against what they believe is the bad governance Ghanaians are experiencing at the moment and also the criminal ‘persecutions’ of its members by the Akufo-Addo administration.

Addressing the media in Accra on Monday February 28, General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia said there have been acts of human right violations and harassments against its leaders and supporters by the government.

This, he said, threatens the peace and security of the country, hence their petition.

The chief scribe of the NDC mentioned the case against former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) Dr. Stephen Opuni as a case of political witch-hunting.

He added that the trials of the party’s National Chairman, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo and Member of Parliament for Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson are all criminal persecutions.

He said the action of the government threatens the country’s political stability and also erodes democratic values. Therefore, the NDC wants the Commonwealth to monitor the situation and act on it.

“If you are a member of Commonwealth and you deviate from those practices of good governance there are structures we can trigger to draw your attention to those deficits in your democratic practice. In the worst case scenario, you could be suspended from the Commonwealth as we saw Zimbabwe and other countries, at one time or the other having been sanctioned by the suspension.

“We have seen that some practices of bad governance in Ghana of late seem to contradict the core beliefs of the Commonwealth and so we have written to the Secretary General of Commonwealth drawing her attention to those lapses. So our government can be called to order and things mist be done in a the country.”