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The Executive committee of Anchoring Democracy Advocacy Movement Ghana (ADAM-GH), in a press statement has send a strong caution to the ruling government led by H.E Akufo-Addo to desist from intimidation, brutal attacks and threats on journalist in this electioneering period.
According to them Several incidents in the past since the assumption of office of Nana Addo government points to the facts that violence, intimidation, lawlessness and culture of silence has been the hall mark of this administration.
Read the full statement below:
PRESS STATEMENT.
5th December 2020
GHANAIANS ARE FED-UP WITH GOVERNMENT THREATS, BRUTAL ATTACKS AND INTIMIDATIONS ON JOURNALIST AND ALL THOSE FIGHTING CORRUPTIONS IN THE COUNTRY, ADAM-GH.
The Executive committee of Anchoring Democracy Advocacy Movement Ghana (ADAM-GH), a civil society organisation that anchors proper Democratic principles, fighting corruption and ensuring good governance, applauded political parties for peaceful campaign and comportment in the way and manner both parties conducted their campaign. We hereby wish the political parties the very best of luck and may the will of God and Ghanaians be supreme.
According to the Executive Secretary of ADAM-GH Mr. Azubila, the CSO is emphatically, sending a strong caution to the ruling government to desist from intimidation, brutal attacks and threats on journalist in this electioneering period. Ghanaians and especially our journalist need their freedom to exercise their professional and constitutionally mandated duties and no amount of threats and attacks from Dr Mustapha Hamid and his government on our journalist as occurred in past can see the light of the day.
Several incidents in the past since the assumption of office of Nana Addo government points to the facts that violence, intimidation, lawlessness and culture of silence has been the hall mark of this administration.
ADAM-GH was so astonished to see and hear the usual threats of this government from Dr Mustapha Hamid a minister of state who is in-charge of inner cities and Zongo development still issuing threats to journalist even 5 days to elections, daring to go after journalists he disagrees with, threatening to deal with some media mercilessly who showed a video where the President was receiving a bribe purported to be coming from an investigative journalist.
“Such threats from the governing party in the past has taken the lives of some journalist in this country and others publicly announced such threats to them to take their lives on traditional media and have to flew from the country to save their precious lives.”
A member of Anas Aremeyaw Anas Tiger Eye PI Ahmed Suale was murdered few weeks after receiving such threats, Manasseh Azure resigned from Multimedia and flew to South Africa after receiving such threats, The Auditors General was forced to proceed on leave for investing Senior minister Yaw Osafo Marfo over USD 1 million scandal and threatened thereafter. The former Special prosecutor Martin Amidu received same numerous threats when he exposed corruption in Nana Addo government and further made it public that when he is killed Ghanaians should ask President Nana Addo.
President Nana Addo’s spiritual father Owusu Bumper led national security to a radio station to beat up journalist and just last week, a military officers W O 1 Mashuod Salia a physical instructor was beaten and handcuffed by this same party hooligans calling themselves national security.
Civil society organisations and all institutions and individuals fighting corruption in the country has equally suffered the wrath of this government through such threats and attacks.
Since the assumption of office of Nana Addo’s government, intimidation, brutal attacks on citizens and even on our Police and military officers have equally suffered the wrath of party vigilantes who have been unfortunately incorporated into the national security by handing them security uniforms and offensive weapons and thereby terrorizing innocent Ghanaians.
ADAM-GH is advising the President to make sure these party hooligans in his party do not play any role in this elections just as they did in the past.
If the President believes himself and is sure that he did not take the said USD ,40,000 bribe, he should come out to explain himself to clear the air and save Ghana from the International embarrassment and ridicule instead of pushing Dr Mustapha Hamid to be issuing threats on our journalists.
Mr Mustapha Hamid describing the action of the journalist as unethical is very regrettable because he himself lacks same ethics due to accusations that he stole money from his boss’s briefcase when he was the then candidate Nana Addo in 2016.
Therefore, as there is a saying that “he who calls for equity must come with clean hands”.
This government using military and party vigilantes terrorizing innocent Ghanaians in the Volta Region during the new voters registration exercise, in the name of closer of boarders but unfortunately after registration exercise they were all removed from the Region and a week to the elections they are brought back.
ADAM-GH also appreciate the action of the first special prosecutor of Ghana Mr. Martin Amidu for refusing the President’s unfortunate advice to him to compromise his office as special Prosecutor in shielding Ken Ofori Atta’s AGYAPA scandal.
It is so disgusting and disturbing as a nation when the whole sitting president will reduce his office as president in protecting corrupt officials in his government by asking the Special Prosecutor to hide his investigative findings and allow the very person he investigated (Ken Ofori Atta the Finance minister) who is an architect of the whole AGYAPA scandal to write a report for Martin Amidu to present as a report coming from the office of the special prosecutor .
If there is anyone to celebrate as a hero in the fight against corruption in Ghana today, Martin Amidu is the one. It is so disappointing having a sitting president who is shielding his family members in his government who are engaging in dubious scandals.
Finally, as a civil society organisation that anchors proper Democratic principles, ensuring good governance and fight against corruption, we are calling on the electoral commissioner Madam Jean Mensah to be circumspect in their dealings and ensure free fair and transparent elections.
“Devoid of the unpardonable mistakes occurred during compilation of the new voters register, where figures were being duplicated from some Constituencies in the Ashanti Region.
We also saw the deliberate removals of names from the register during the voters exhibition exercise.
It is evidently clear that, since the assumption of office of the Electoral commissioner Madam Jean Mensah and her deputies, no exercise in the commission has been executed successfully without what they call it an error or anomalies, please we don’t want to hear of such deliberate anomalies and errors on 7th December. Looking at the strange circumstances that led to the removal of the former EC boss Madam Charlotte Osei and the appointment of Madam Jean Mensah led EC, the commission has completely lost public confidence through it activities due to manipulations and behaving like stooges to the government who appointed them. ADAM-GH is hereby, reminding the electoral commissioner and her deputies that, they should not behave like appointees of this government simply because they were appointed by the President but should be very neutral and professional in this crucial elections in order not to throw this country into chaos. This is another opportunity again for the EC to restore public confidence in the commission as her predecessors did in the past.
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AZUBILA SALAM EMMANUEL
(Executive Secretary of ADAM-GH).
Contact: 0544418072 / 0243486397 / 0544526676.
Source: Myghanamedia.com
