?... . NDC Council of Elders Backs Him

By Julius Yao

THE Council of Elders of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has said it would not allow the national Chairman of the party, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, to honour the latest invitation of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service.

The Council also stated that all former appointees under the former President John Mahama administration would stop answering questions before inquisition panels and bodies questioning them on their stewardships.

The Council made the assertion in relation to a CID letter addressed to the NDC Chairman on Wednesday requesting him to assist the Department to investigate cases of kidnapping and fire outbreaks in some parts of the country.

At a press conference in Accra yesterday, the NDC's Council of Elders, chaired by Alhaji Iddrisu Mahama, said the latest invitation was a case of "intimidation and harassment being employed by the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government, using the instrumentality of the police to instil fear in our chairman."

"Our national Chairman is not under any compulsion or obligation to assist the police in their investigations and the NDC will not allow him honour that vexatious invitation."

"If the CID wishes to arrest our National Chairman, they can proceed to do so," the statement, read by the Communications Director of the party, Sammy Gyamfi, stated.

In attendance was Mr Ampofo who was seated in between some bigwigs of the party on the front row including Mr Ato Ahwoi and Professor Kwamena Ahwoi, National, Regional and Constituency Executives, members of the Council of Elders and the grassroots.

Clad in red bands around their necks and wrists, the charged crowd intermittently sang revolutionary songs to express their frustration at developments on the political front in the country.

On the allegation that the Chairman is connected to the fire outbreaks and kidnappings, the party described the claim as a sinister fabrication and a lie conjured by the police CID and it's Director-General.

"This has been done to divert attention from growing lawlessness and violent crimes in our country which stems directly from the inability of the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government to fashion out a robust security policy that guarantees the safety of Ghanaians," Mr Gyamfi added.

According to the NDC, considering the living conditions in the country, what was needed was a conscious effort to determine choices that would make the survival of the citizenry and sustainable development.

"That is what Ghanaians expect of their political leaders and representatives, not political retribution and witch-hunting, harassment and humiliation," he said to applause from the crowd which had converged on the Adabraka based headquarters of the party.

Mr Ofosu Ampofo and Kwaku Boahen, a Deputy Communications Director, are currently facing criminal trials for conspiracy to assault a public officer and conspiracy to cause harm upon a leaked tape allegedly detailing plans to cause mayhem and make the country ungovernable.

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