Akufo-Addo Is The Most Lawless President Ever In Ghana – Nyaho Tamakloe

A founding member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Nyaho Nayho Tamakloe has said the way and manner the nominees for the position of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) were confirmed showed that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo Dankwa is the most lawless President ever in Ghana’s history.

According to him, the assembly members who have been empowered by the constitution to confirm or reject the nominees were unable to cast their ballot without fear or intimidation.

This development, he said, should not be swept under the carpet because in his view, they have taken the country back.

He told journalists in Accra on Thursday October 28 that “Permit me to say without any fear of contradiction that Akufo-Addo is the most lawless president Ghana has ever had and does not believe in rule of law.

“This act of his, in recent times, has found its way in our local  government system. The district, municipal and metropolitan concept, as we all know was established a year after the first democratic election  in the fourth republic to help decentralize  activities of local government  into our localities  for proper and drastic development.

This part of our country’s development requires free and fair election  process to enable  people’s representatives at the assemblies  who are responsible to determine  who is confirmed in  the respective assemblies  as the District  Chief Executive, cast  their votes without fear or favour .

“The composition of our assemblies are made up of experts, elected assembly members from the various electoral areas within the district, chiefs and opinion leaders. These people are expected to be people of integrity, conviction mature and above all, with the development of their localities at heart.

“These people, per our constitution must at all times be allowed to vote for or against any government appointee  who  is nominated by the president without any  interference or oppression or compulsion  but by their own conviction.  This is the sole right given to the assembly members for which no one shall influence  in any shape or form  i.e by threat , intimidation , assault or pressure  that will interfere with the exercise of such rights.

“What do we see today? This government led by Nana Addo has taken our dear nation  back. Looking at happenings in the recent confirmation of Chief Executives at the various assemblies. These acts cannot be grossed over as a nation because it is undermining the democracy that we have enjoyed  for the past twenty eight years and still  counting.”

It is recalled that the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Ofosu Ampofo claimed that elected assembly members were denied their constitutional right to endorse or reject persons nominated for the position of MMDCEs in the country.

Without mentioning the areas where these happenings are taking place, he alleged that in some areas, the military and other security officers are being used to block some assembly members from having access to the auditorium where the voting is taking place to perform their duties.

He made these allegations when the presidential candidate of the NDC in last year’s elections, Former President John Dramani Mahama met the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs as part of his thank you tour on Tuesday October 12.

He said “You recall that His Excellency President Akufo-Addo sometimes in the last term, proposed amendments to the Local government Act and proposed that the local government system should be partisan. Those of us here opposed vehemently that we will want to persevere the nonpartisan nature of our district assemblies. So, there was a very intense debate when a referendum was proposed and because of the position that we canvassed and convinced Ghanaians  finally, the president  had to withdraw and then referendum never took place.

“Recent development  in the appointment and approval of MMDCEs  vindicate our position  that if we make  local government  system partisan  we will further polarise  this country  and we will to be able to even  put our citizens  together to undertake development projects .

“Why am I saying so?  Only last Sunday  in one district assembly  when 38  people were supposed  to go and endorse  municipal, chief executive  on Sunday  some government appointees were put together  and one or two people were added  and military and  security agencies  provided them  escort to go and approve  somebody who has been appointed  as a DCE.

“The elected assembly members  were prevented from  exercising  their constitutional right  and this is a sad commentary for local governance  which for me  is the heart beat of   the  chiefs when it comes to the governance architecture of this country.

“It did not happen in that place alone, in several  other places  elected assembly members  are prevented and  because the clause says that  two thirds  present and voting  so they will he  elected members and  cordoned off a few people  and say  they are the only people who came  and they have voted  and so somebody has been declared  the DCE.

“I think we are bastardising our local government system and I will plead with the chiefs that in your deliberations take these matters into consideration because our democratic dispensation, the pillars upon which our democracy revolves is the decentralisation and the local government system of which the chiefs are part.”

Mr Ofosu Ampofo was not the only one making this claim.

Members of Parliament for Cape Coast North and Cape Coast South constituencies also accused the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) of using security forces including thugs to intimidate Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly (CCMA) members perceived to be members of the NDC to confirm the president’s nominee of Chief Executive.

According to the MPs, Kweku George Ricketts-Hagan of Cape Coast South and Kwamena Mintah Nyarku of Cape Coast North, the NPP had devised several means to ensure that Ernest Arthur is forcefully confirmed.

The 2020 NPP Parliamentary Candidate for Cape Coast South failed twice to get two-thirds majority votes of assembly members after being renominated by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Mr Arthur, popularly known as Mayor 1, needed only four votes on Wednesday, October 6 in a second voting on his renomination to be confirmed Chief Executive.

But not even an impassioned gesture by the Central Region Minister, Marigold Assan, will move some assembly members to vote for him.

Others had accused NDC’s Ricketts-Hagan of masterminding his defeat.

He had polled 34 ‘Yes’ votes in the first voting on Monday, September 27, a marked departure from the 99 percent he polled in 2017 when he was nominated for the first time by the president.

Arthur was subsequently confirmed under circumstances that were heavily criticised by observers.

Addressing journalists on Monday, October 11, the day initially rumoured for the third and final voting, the two NDC MPs said the two-time rejection of Mr Arthur is a clear indication that he is not wanted by the good people of Cape Coast as mayor.

“There is no law in the constitution that the President should re-present or renominate the candidate. However, the President in his prerogative can renominate a failed nominee,” former Deputy Finance Minister Ricketts-Hagan admitted.

“Mr Ernest Arthur has been nominated twice and twice have the people of Cape Coast rejected him through their assembly representatives. Cape Coast has refused emphatically for Mr Ernest Arthur to be their MCE after four or almost five years to continue as MCE and the assembly has reflected these sentiments of the people they represent.”

SOURCE: 3news