Gender Minister Nominee, Otiko Afisa Djaba has refused to withdraw her comments made against the former President John Dramani Mahama ahead of the 2016 elections.
Speaking during her vetting at Parliament House in Accra, Otiko Djaba said she owes the former President no apology for her comments.
Queried by some of the Minority members on the panel for describing the former president as “wicked, evil and someone with a heart of the devil,” Afisa Djaba said she spoke out of conviction and would not apologize or withdraw her comments..She is also reported to have told a rally in Tamale that President Mahama had outlived his usefulness and does not deserve a second term in office.
At the same rally, she appealed to Gonjas to change their voting pattern on December 7 by rejecting President John Dramani and the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).
This is what ensued at today’s sitting
Suhuyini Alhassan: Over the past years , it is known to everyone that you have been very active in partisan politics. Actively campaigning for Nana Addo who is now the President of the Republic. During this period , your public pronouncements have been described by many Ghanaians as harsh. For instance you labelled the former President as having the heart of the devil. You also described the former President as violent and an embarrassment to the Northern Region. You also described the President as being extremely wicked and violent…Do you accept that your statement was unfortunate and unpalatable . Will you now apologise to the former President and to Ghana for such unsavory comments?
Otiko Djaba : The President is my brother and I spoke from my convictions. I made the statements that I made as a wake up call for him. We are building the nation. He was running for reelection and I felt that the people who should tell him as it is were not telling him as it was.They decided that because he was my brother , they did not want me to speak and when I talked about him being an embarrassment, I spoke in relation to SADA. SADA is very dear to my heart.My mother is a Northerner, the incidence of poverty is highest in the three Northern Regions and for a President who comes from the Northern Region, who promised to alleviate poverty, what happened to the Guinea fowls? It was an embarrassment to me and to the North. The Chiefs of the North actually made that statement and so I don’t owe him or you any apology. We are developing and building a nation.
Haruna Iddrisu :You were free to comment on SADA but those words you used on political platforms were unsavory. Do you regret this?
Otiko Djaba: My comment on the internet was in relation to SADA…When I talked about his wickedness, the people of Ghana were asking for reduction, they were asking for dumsor to be solved, people were losing jobs and so forth.
Haruna Iddrisu: We take a strong objection to those words you used to describe former President Mahama. Will you dissociate yourself from those words?
Otiko Djaba : Are you saying we cannot criticize in this country?
Haruna Iddrisu: Does your right to speak include your right to insult?
Otiko Djaba : It was not an insult. It was a criticism and I am allowed as a citizen of Ghana to criticize the President and these are descriptive words. It is not an insult.
Haruna Iddrisu: So you want to stand by those descriptive words that he is evil and wicked?
Otiko Djaba : I did not insult the President, I criticized him.
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