A member of the Council of State, Mr Sam Okudzeto has described former President John Mahama’s ”boot for boot” comment as very irresponsible and higly provacative.
Mr Mahama has said no party in Ghana can beat the opposition National Democratic Congress(NDC) when it comes to violence and that the party will in the 2020 election respond in equal measure to the violence unleashed on its supporters by the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Thursday’s Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election.
The by-election was marred by violence as unidentified armed men in a police vehicle stormed La-Bawaleshie residence of the NDC Parliamentary candidate and shot six persons injuring them in the process.
But Mr Mahama, who is campaigning in the Volta Region to be elected the Flagbearer to lead the party into next year’s election, has served notice that the NDC will match the NPP boot for boot.
“The NPP is taking this power as a matter of life and death, they said it already that all die be die and they are acting out and living the reality of all die be die. If you turn on your TV you’ll see what happened at Ayawaso West and so we are not going to joke in 2020 and I’m sounding a caution to the NPP we are going to match them boot for boot.”
Mr Mahama added: “I just want to sound a word of caution that NDC has revolutionary roots and that when it comes to unleashing violence nobody can beat us in unleashing violence. It is just that we midwived this country’s democracy and so we must be the first to respect the country’s democracy and that’s why we are acting as a party that is very docile and respecting the rule of law. But if we believe that the government cannot protect our people and we believe that the government is using its vigilante groups and illegal forces to intimidate, harass and injure our people then we’ll have to advise ourselves.”
But speaking to Joy FM Monday, Lawyer Sam Okudzeto who’s the former President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) in condemning Mr Mahama’s statement said the former Head of State must try and leave above reproach as he’s a statesman.
“That is also irresponsibility, you know we respect former Presidents and it’s very important that we have former office holders still in civil society and they should look at themselves in that light. They are supposed to set the standard for others to follow, and therefore if something like this happens the former President has access to the current President, these are matters you should take up with him to talk about and insist that the right thing is done, not to make a provocative statement of that nature. Because what he’s saying is an encouragement for others within the NDC to say that they can also behave the same way, two wrongs don’t make a right.”