President and Chairman of Groupe Nduom, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, says it is the responsibility of Ghanaians to constantly remind the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) of its campaign promises.
According to him, he decided not to speak after the election “because what Ghanaians needed to do was to put their parochial and political interest aside and work together as a nation.”
Speaking on Accra-based Eezy FM yesterday, which was also broadcast live on Amansan Television (ATV), Business Television Africa (BTA), Ocean 1 Television, First Digital Television (FDTV) and over 15 radio stations across the country, he stressed that the electorate should always remind the government of its promises.
“As I usually do, I did this when the late President Atta Mills became the President, I did similar thing when John Dramani Mahama was elected President and I have been doing this since Nana Akufo-Addo became the President,” he said.
What Ghanaians need to do as a people after elections, Dr. Nduom said, was to allow every new administration some time to gather their thoughts, but rise to the occasion and ensure their rights are not trampled upon.
To this end, he reiterated that Ghanaians must “constantly remind leaders of their promises” and not to sit back and try to be mediocre.
“We need not insult anybody and be throwing dirt on them but rather offer constructive criticisms and suggestions that will improve our lot. We carry on with our job creation to better the lives of the people so that our country Ghana will continue to become great and strong,” he stated.
According to him, the lowest point in the 2016 national campaign of which he would never forget was when the chairperson of the Electoral Commission disqualified him from contesting in the presidential election.
“I can’t forget October 10th, 2016. That was the day the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs. Charlotte Osei, did something I will never forget. Making a decision not backed by law to disqualify me as the presidential candidate for the 2016 presidential election. That was the lowest point in the campaign,” he recalled.
“It was something that shook my faith in the country, it shook my determination as well as participation in the governance system in this country was concerned, it made me ask myself why bother?” he asked.
The business magnate pointed out that people are put in authority to ensure that the laws in this country were administered without fear or favour.
However, he said if they rather decide to use their own selective means of determining which part of the law should work “then it is unfortunate.”
“The EC decided by themselves who was fit and not fit to become the presidential candidate of this country and further came up with an artificial means of deciding how many people were allowed to contest for an election,” he further recalled.
Those who participated in his disqualification, he said, “must understand that as a man who believes in my faith I can forgive their action and indeed have forgiven their action but I will never forget their action because we must never let anybody that we have given authority to in this country by way of laws set them aside or come up with any interpretation to satisfy certain agenda.”
He described the action by the EC chairperson as “something premeditated in my view and something that was done to favour certain candidates.”
Asked what consolation he took from the election, Dr. Nduom said: “What made me happy after the election was the fact that people still remembered our messages of compulsory education and separation of Attorney General’s office from the Ministry of Justice.
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