The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has welcomed an order by
President Nana Akufo-Addo for the party to meet the main opposition
National Democratic Congress (NDC) to dialogue on how to disband all
militia groups affiliated to them.
While delivering his third state of the nation address to parliament on
Thursday, 21 February 2019, the president said if the NDC and the NPP do
not voluntarily meet to fashion out ways to dissolve the party
militias, he would apply legislation to disband them himself.
“I want to make a sincere, passionate appeal to the leaders of the two
main political parties in our country – NPP and NDC – to come together
as soon as possible, preferably next week, to agree on appropriate
measures to bring an end to this worrying and unacceptable phenomenon of
vigilantism in our body politic.
“Mr Speaker, I’ve asked the leadership of the NPP to extend an
invitation to the leadership of the NDC for such a meeting. The security
services of the country will be on standby to assist such a meeting. If
voluntary disbandment by the parties is not feasible, then I’ll
initiate legislation in the matter.”
Reacting to this in an interview with Accra100.5FM’s parliamentary
correspondent, Richard Appiah Sarpong, the NPP’s Director of
Communication, Mr Buaben Asamoa, who is also the MP for Adentan, said:
“Let us all get the courage and dialogue over this matter. We are
politicians and we go to Ghanaians for power to serve them and, so, if
the electorate are against vigilantism, it is only proper for the
political parties to end it now.
“So, we welcome the order given by the president. As a party, we are now
going to sit down and look for the way forward in meeting the NDC on
this matter.”